Severe weather in Himalayas kills nine trekkers

KATHMANDU, Oct 15 (AFP): A snowstorm and avalanche in Nepal's Himalayas has killed nine trekkers-eight foreigners and one Nepali-on a popular hiking circuit, while more than 100 others remain out of contact, officials said Wednesday.

Severe weather triggered by the tail end of Cyclone Hudhud, which battered neighbouring India's east coast, hit the groups of trekkers on the Annapurna circuit in central Nepal on Tuesday.

As the weather cleared on Wednesday in the remote Mustang and Manang districts, rescuers, trudging through waist-deep snow, found 17 stranded trekkers, but another 143 foreign tourists remain out of contact.

Four bodies, those of two Poles one Israeli and a local trekker, were discovered buried in the snow in Mustang, said police official Ganesh Rai who heads the rescue effort.