Nepal pledges weather warning in wake of snowstorm deaths
Print Edition
NEPAL’S prime minister has pledged to set up a weather warning system after a major Himalayan snowstorm killed 32 people at the height of the trekking season, 17 of them tourists.
Forecasters had predicted the snowstorm, but many hikers appeared to have been caught unawares and were heading to an exposed high mountain pass that forms part of the popular Annapurna Circuit trekking route when it struck.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said the loss of life was “extremely tragic at a time when worldwide weather updates are available every second” and pledged to provide better weather information.
“I want to assure that the government will make efforts to establish early warning centres for weather in the important spots across the country, especially in the Himalayan areas and along rivers,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Yesterday, emergency workers on foot and in helicopters resumed their search for survivors, rescuing 48 more people, including at least 14 tourists, a day after they airlifted more than 150 to safety, officials said.
“We have located 41 people who were stranded at the Thorong La pass, including at least a dozen foreigners,” said Bishnu Bhattarai, an official at the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), an industry body.
Workers earlier rescued seven others, including two French tourists.
It was unclear how many people remained stranded in the area yesterday, although the majority are now thought to have been accounted for.
Thousands of people head to the Annapurna region every October, when conditions are usually clear.
The Annapurna Circuit is popular among tourists, and has come to be known as the “apple pie” trek for the food served at small lodges, known as teahouses, that line the route.
But many were unprepared for the conditions on the Thorong La pass, which bore the brunt of Tuesday’s unseasonal snowstorm.
Eighteen-year-old trekker Max Weinstein said that hotel staff had told him and a fellow hiker that it was “totally safe” to head up to the pass, which climbs over 5,000 meters.
Some industry veterans said trekking companies could have done more to ensure clients’ safety.
Tashi Sherpa, director of Seven Summit Treks, insisted that four dozen clients postpone their trek up the Annapurna circuit, likely saving their lives.
“We had been checking weather and we saw that the days ahead were not clear,” Sherpa said.
He added that a lack of regulation allowed companies to take chances, while many trekkers also ignore warnings.
Emergency workers yesterday recovered the body of a Nepalese porter from under the ice, taking the death toll to 32, including 24 trekkers on the Annapurna circuit and five climbers.
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