Remains of 17 missing found in quake-hit Nepal trek zone

Remains of 17 missing found in quake-hit Nepal trek zone

KATHMANDU - Locals have recovered the remains of another 17 people who were killed in Nepal's Langtang trekking region in April when an earthquake triggered a massive avalanche, a senior official said Wednesday.

Shiva Ram Gelal, chief officer of the central Rasuwa district that forms part of Langtang, said that locals had informed authorities after they found the remains in the last week.

"Body parts of 17 people have been recovered from the area," Gelal told AFP.

"Bad weather is making it difficult to transport the bodies to Kathmandu for forensic testing," he said, adding that it was too early to give the nationalities of any of the latest victims.

Searchers have now recovered the remains of 124 individuals from the area, while a number of people also feared killed in the same disaster remain unaccounted for.

Nineteen bodies previously recovered have been identified as foreigners, while another 22 foreign trekkers are also believed to have died in the picturesque Langtang Valley, which had long been a popular trekking destination for Western holidaymakers.

The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck on April 25 killed more than 8,800 people across the Himalayan nation and wreaked a trail of death and destruction in Langtang.

It also triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 18 people including foreign climbers.

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