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Search and rescue teams in Nepal
Photo: AP

Foreign Ministry: 40 Israelis still out of contact in Nepal

Nepali troops continue searching for dozens of people still missing, including Israeli Michal Gili Charkesky; injured Israelis, body of one of the casualties making way to Israel.

The Foreign Ministry's situation room reported noon Saturday that 40 Israelis traveling in Annapurna Circus route in northern Nepal were still out of contact following the snow blizzards that hit the area, claiming the lives of some 38 people, among them at least three Israelis.

 

 

Nepal officials said Saturday morning that most of the trekkers stranded by deadly blizzards in Mount Annapurna have been rescued or moved to safer ground, while Nepali troops continued searcheing rugged snow-covered Himalayan terrain in their most intensive effort to find any remaining survivors of one of the country's worst mountain disasters.

 

Hikers evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)
Hikers evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)

While more than 300 people have been rescued, sometimes plucked from mountainsides by helicopters and taken to nearby villages and towns, dozens more are still taking shelter in isolated mountain huts, said Nepal government administrator Yama Bahadur Chokhyal, adding that sunny skies and calm wind conditions were helping the ongoing rescue efforts.

 

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The Foreign Ministry said 23 Israeli trekkers were rescued in the morning hours of Saturday and airlifted in helicopters to Kathmandu. 21 additional hikers will be rescued by the end of the day and the rest have asked to leave the area by foot.

 

More than 40 people, including 36-year-old Michal Gili Charkesky from Givatayim, are still missing after unseasonal weather in peak trekking season unleashed avalanches on the 240-km (150-mile) route around Annapurna, the world's 10th-tallest peak, which takes enthusiasts three weeks to finish.

 

Charkesky's brother, Lior Koren, told Ynet on Saturday morning that "we are waiting for information from the rescuers at the moment. Information we received from people on the ground that saw her indicates that she almost certainly stayed at the top of the mountain. We were told her guide left her, ran away, and official sources told us he made it down without her - with her backpack."

 

Michal Gili Charkesky, still missing.
Michal Gili Charkesky, still missing.

 

Twelve helicopters were pressed into action to drop searchers in otherwise inaccessible spots, while soldiers fanned out in different directions.

 

"This will be the most rigorous combing and tracking exercise we have launched so far," Niranjan Shrestha, the army official leading the search and rescue effort, told Reuters.

 

"The soldiers will be digging up the snow to make sure they do not leave a single body behind. They have be very fast and end the operation before evening."

 

Hikers waiting for evacuation in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)
Hikers waiting for evacuation in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)

 

A rescue helicopter spotted nine more bodies Saturday on a trekking trail in the Dolpa district, but the steep terrain made it impossible for the helicopter to land, said Yadav Koirala from the Disaster Management Division in Katmandu.

 

The helicopter picked up three survivors and rescuers on foot would be sent to the area to retrieve the bodies, he said. The victims are most likely Nepalese porters, said Ram Chandra Sharma of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal.

 

The number of missing is difficult to pin down. While the army's estimate is more than 40, the home ministry put it higher, at more than 35 tourists and 30 Nepali men. Other than Israelis and Nepalis, other foreign victims were from Canada, India and Poland.

 

The Israeli embassy in Katmandu, the Foreign Ministry's tactical headquarters in Nepal and the ministry's situation room will continue updating the list of those out of contact.

 

It's important to note that those defined "out of contact" are not necessarily considered missing, and there are different reasons making contact with them has been difficult so far - including communication difficulties in the trekking areas and the fact hikers in other routes in the area are unaware of the disaster.

 

Thorong La, the highest pass along the Annapurna trek, is at an altitude of 5,416 metres (17,769 feet), but the route does not require mountaineering experience. Many hikers were caught unprepared and unawares by the sudden change in the weather.

 

Helicopters started evacuating Israeli hikers rescued from the Annapurna Mountain Range to an area from which the hikers could be transported by car. The Foreign Ministry stressed the Israeli hikers being evacuated were not in mortal peril, but could not finish the trek on foot due to the trauma they suffered.

 

Israeli hikers who were evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)
Israeli hikers who were evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)

 

The evacuation was run by the Foreign Minister's tactical headquarters in cooperation with the insurance companies.

 

A flight taking injured hikers from Katmandu to Israel left Nepal on Friday night. Two doctors were on board the flight to provide medical treatment if the need arises.

 

The body of Nadav Shoham, who was killed in the disaster, was expected to arrive in Israel on Saturday evening. The bodies of the other two Israeli casualties, Tamar Ariel and Agam Luria, were expected to arrive in Israel at the beginning of next week.

 

Left to right: Tamar Ariel, Agam Luria and Nadav Shoham.
Left to right: Tamar Ariel, Agam Luria and Nadav Shoham.

 

Israelis' guide survived thanks to food in their bags

In the capital, Kathmandu, survivors recounted their brush with death during the blizzard.

  

Munchang Lama, 35, a guide for two Israeli women, found himself marooned while he was pitching a tent for them.

 

"Suddenly it started raining and I took shelter between two rocks," said Lama, who was rescued on Friday, suffering from frostbite and minor injuries.

 

"Next morning I was not able to walk because my leg was stuck in snow," he added. "I realised I would only be able to get out when the snow melted."

 

Hikers evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)
Hikers evacuated in Annapurna (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Nepal)

 

Lama said he was able to keep up his strength by munching on nuts, chocolates and a banana he found in the women's bags.

 

"This kept me alive for 48 hours," said Lama, adding that he did not know what became of his clients.

 

Four Nepali guides were swept away by an avalanche, said Horst Ulrich, a 72-year-old German, who was on his fourth trip to Nepal with a group of friends.

 

"We were in a dangerous spot and shocked at the conditions we were seeing unfold in front of our eyes," he added. "We just got lucky."

 

Nepali army evacuates injured and casulaties (Photo: EPA)
Nepali army evacuates injured and casulaties (Photo: EPA)

 

The government has admitted failing to issue any warning that the tail end of a cyclone that battered India last weekend would bring extreme weather to Nepal, and has promised to set up an early-warning system.

 

This week's incident was the second major mountain disaster in Nepal this year after an avalanche killed 16 guides on Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in April.

 

The home ministry told officials in the five affected districts to trace missing people who could have taken shelter from the storm in hamlets, temples or other isolated spots.

 

At least 45 Nepali families have approached officials in the districts of Mustang, Manang and Dolpa for help tracking down their missing menfolk who worked as porters and guides.

 

"The problem is that any Nepali is free to start operating as a porter and they do not require a licence," said Keshav Pandey of Nepal's Trekking Agencies Association. "According to our estimate more than 85 Nepalis are still stuck."

 

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. Income from tourism, including permit fees from trekkers, who made up more than 12 percent of its 800,000 tourists in 2013, accounts for 4 percent of its economy.

 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.18.14, 13:14
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