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Gopal Babu Shrestha, treasurer of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), an umbrella group for expedition companies in the country, on Thursday confirmed the recovery to CBC News. He did not know the gender of any of the victims.
The death toll from avalanches and blizzards that covered a popular mountain trail in central Nepal has now risen to 25, including the four Canadians, after search and rescue teams spotted the bodies of eight more trekkers, officials said.
A number of foreign trekkers were rescued Thursday, but the death toll was expected to rise.
Rescue efforts have now been halted until Friday morning due to poor visibility in the Manang and Mustang regions, TAAN said in a posting on its website.
About 70 people were still missing along or near the popular Annapurna Circuit, 160 kilometres northwest of the capital, Katmandu, said Ganga Sagar Pant of TAAN.
The route, about 160 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, was filled with international hikers because October is peak trekking season, when the air is clear and the weather is cool. There were also many Nepalese out on the trails because of local festival holidays.
At least 12 people died when they were caught Tuesday in the Thorong La pass area in sudden blizzard, caused by the remains of a cyclone that hit India several days ago.
As the weather improved, rescue workers recovered the bodies of four hikers — two Poles, an Israeli and a Nepali — from the Thorong La pass area. Two trekkers from Hong Kong and 12 Israelis, were airlifted on Wednesday to Katmandu, where they were being treated at Shree Birendra Hospital.
The blizzard appeared to contribute to an avalanche Wednesday that killed at least eight people in Phu village in the neighbouring Manang district, including an Indian and four Canadian trekkers, plus three villagers, said government official Devendra Lamichane. The bodies of the villagers were recovered Wednesday.
Montreal-based travel company Terra Ultima says three Quebec women who left for Nepal in early October are missing and feared dead. The women include two in their 50s and one in her 30s. They were on a three-week trek.
Julien Passerini of Terra Ultima said six people from Quebec were in Nepal's mountainous north, including the three missing women. Read more @ CBC NEWS
