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Up to 250 missing after avalanche hits Nepal trekking route

Foreign tourists may be among the missing in the avalanche, which hit the village of Ghodatabela, in Rasuwa district

Reuters April 28, 2015

PHOTO REUTERS

KATHMANDU: Up to 250 people are missing in Nepal after an avalanche on Tuesday hit a village in a popular trekking area to the north of the capital Kathmandu, District Governor Uddhav Bhattarai said.

Foreign tourists may be among the missing in the avalanche, which hit the village of Ghodatabela, in Rasuwa district, at around noon local time.

Read: Stranded on the Everest: Rescue teams make frantic efforts to evacuate dozens of survivors

"This area is in a natural park which is popular with tourists. We are trying to rescue them, but bad weather and rainfall is hampering efforts," Bhattarai told Reuters.

A powerful earthquake last Saturday with a magnitude of 7.9 set off many snowslides in the Himalayas. One avalanche killed 18 climbers at base camp on Mount Everest. The mountainous state has been hit by dozens of aftershocks.

Read: Amid aftershocks Nepal quake toll tops 2,500

The home ministry put the latest death toll from the quake at 4,358, with 8,174 injured. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters the final number killed could reach 10,000, making this the worst disaster in the country's history.