08 June,2015 07:19 AM IST | | IANS
As many as 55 bodies, including of four foreigners, were recovered by the Nepal Army and villagers in a joint effort in Nepal's Langtang valley on Saturday and Sunday, police here said
Kathmandu: As many as 55 bodies, including of four foreigners, were recovered by the Nepal Army and villagers in a joint effort in Nepal's Langtang valley on Saturday and Sunday, police here said. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Pravin Pokhrel, the rescue teams of Nepal Army in coordination with local residents recovered 55 human skeletons from the village.
As many as 128 people were rescued from the village during the first phase of the rescue operation after the disaster. Residents in Langtang area, in Rasuwa district and famous for trekking, said over 190 people were reported missing following the massive avalanche which swept away the entire village in the wake of the powerful April 25 quake that hit Rasuwa district.
Rasuwa was one of the worst hit districts in the quake, where 597 people died and 771 were injured. The worst-hit area was Langtang trekking area, one of the busiest and most admired trekking routes in Nepal. Rasuwa district authorities have imposed a ban on travel to Langtang area, fearing landslide and avalanche. It was reopened on Wednesday following residents' demand to visit their habitation areas to search for their kin and other relatives.
The missing people include 10 Nepal Army personnel, according to Nepal Army's Laxman Thapa of Narayan Battalion posted in the area. Officials said the search started late, as the area was cut off by road and the weather was inclement. Search continues for scores of other villagers and tourists presumed to be missing in the region, according to the District Administration Office (DAO), Rasuwa.
A deadly avalanche set off by the devastating earthquake had wreaked havoc in the Langtang valley, a major tourist destination in the country, displacing the entire village and leaving hundreds killed. After the killer avalanche, the local administration has shifted all 488 survivors and those affected to Kathmandu. Residents said that along with 70 villagers, 40 tourist guides and porters, 190 people had been reported missing.
