Avalanche toll in Nepal hits over 40

With two more bodies found on Saturday, the death toll from the blizzards and avalanches that stuck the popular 320-km trekking route around Annapurna in western Nepal has reached over 40, local authorities said.
According to Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), the bodies of two Japanese tourists have been recovered at the Thorong La mountain pass of Mustang district, the highest point of the Annapurna Circuit route.
On Friday morning, the Special Alpine Rescue Squad of Nepalese Army found five additional dead bodies near Drum Camp area, including two Nepalese porters, a man and a woman from Israel and one woman from Poland.
On Friday and Saturday, reports reached on dead bodies recovered in Mustang, Manang, Myadgi and Dolpa, all of which are the affected areas.
Two security agencies, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, which are involved in rescue and response, measured to help hundreds of trekkers trapped along the Annapurna route.
Other organizations like Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal are also in hard bid to search for and help trekkers in these areas.
Much information about death is yet to be confirmed. So it is difficult for media to get concrete information regarding death toll timely.
TAAN told Xinhua on Friday that the death toll from snow blizzards will probably climb to 50.