*** 26 Trekkers Die in Avalanches near Everest *** From: "Ann and Cameron." Newsgroups: rec.climbing Subject: The Avalanche In Nepal Date: 13 Nov 1995 06:08:48 GMT Organization: RoFIntUG To: AllFrom: Cam Burns This was in Reuters' New wire service on Saturday, Nov. 11KATHMANDU (Reuter) - A huge avalanche struck the overnight camp of a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region of Nepal Saturday, killing 26 people, including 13 Japanese, as they slept, rescue and hiking officials said. The wave of snow buried 11 guides and porters, as well as two residents of the Pangka region near Everest, the world's highest peak, Takashi Miyahara, chairman of Trans Himalayan Treks, told Reuters in the Nepal capital Kathmandu. It was believed to be the biggest avalanche disaster to hit a trekking or mountaineering expedition in Nepal, where majestic peaks and pristine valleys attract about 65,000 foreign hikers and climbers every year. In Nepal's worst mountaineering accident, 14 mountaineers, mostly Koreans, were killed over two days in 1972 by avalanches on Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth highest peak at 26,775 feet. In the latest disaster, 19 people, including 15 foreigners, were evacuated from the area after the avalanche swept over the camp at 1 a.m., an official of Trans Himalayan Treks, which organized the trek, said. The rescue helicopter ferried them to Syangboche district. Helicopter pilot Tashi Sherpa told Reuters after returning from a search mission that only the rooftops of houses could be seen and the bodies were buried under snow. "It is confirmed that they are dead," he said. Miyahara, who accompanied the rescue team to the site, said three lodges were buried under snow. Triggered by a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, some six feet of snow fell in the mountainous region this week, apparently catching the trekkers off guard. The trekking party, which included local Sherpa guides and porters, was returning from Gokyo Valley, which has long been popular with Western trekkers who do not seek high altitude climbing. The valley is about 12 miles southwest of Everest and 170 miles from Kathmandu. The pilot Sherpa said the evacuated trekkers were all unhurt. Their nationalities were not immediately known. Mon Nov 13 15:26:39 1995 Message : #34680727 From: Matthew Freedman Address : mattf@cac.washington.edu Group : Usenet.rec.backcountry Subject : Snow Deaths in Nepal Org. : University of Washington I don't know about the rest of the world, but this story is getting almost no coverage in the US. At least 25 Nepalis and 17 foreign trekkers dead, in what is supposed to be the best, safest weather of the year. I hope we get some first-hand stories of this weekend when people who are out there now make it back to the net... Subject: Avalanche kills 26 including 13 Japanese in sleep Date: Sat, 11 Nov 1995 11:20:01 PST KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuter) - A huge avalanche struck the overnight camp of a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region of Nepal Saturday, killing 26 people including 13 Japanese as they slept, rescue and hiking officials said. The wave of snow buried 11 guides and porters, as well as two residents of the Pangka region near Everest, the world's highest peak, Takashi Miyahara, chairman of Trans Himalayan Treks, told Reuters in the Nepali capital Kathmandu. It was believed to be the biggest avalanche disaster to hit a trekking or mountaineering expedition in Nepal, where majestic peaks and pristine valleys attract about 65,000 foreign hikers and climbers every year. In Nepal's worst mountaineering accident, 14 mountaineers, mostly Koreans, were killed over two days in 1972 by avalanches on Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth highest peak at 26,775 feet. In the latest disaster, 19 people including 15 foreigners were evacuated from the area after the avalanche swept over the camp at 1 a.m. Saturday local time, 4 p.m. EST Friday, an official of Trans Himalayan Treks, which organized the trek, said. The rescue helicopter ferried them to Syangboche district. Helicopter pilot Tashi Sherpa told Reuters after returning from a search mission that only the rooftops of houses could be seen and the bodies were buried under snow. "It is confirmed that they are dead" he said. Miyahara, who accompanied the rescue team to the site, said three lodges were buried under snow.Triggered by a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, some six feet of snow fell in the mountainous region this week, apparently catching the trekkers off guard. The trekking party, which included local Sherpa guides and porters, was returning from Gokyo Valley, which has long been popular with Western trekkers who do not seek high altitude climbing. The valley is about 12 miles southwest of Everest and 170 miles from Kathmandu. In India's worst avalanche disaster, at least 60 people died last January in Jammu and Kashmir state in the western sector of the Himalayan range. In 1992, avalanches tore into 12 villages in blizzard swept southeastern Turkey, killing 57 people including eight children. Subject: Nepal storm toll rises to 43, rescuers hunt bodies Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 1:40:05 PST KATHMANDU, Nov 12 (Reuter) - Building collapses caused by heavy rains in Nepal claimed 17 lives on Sunday, raising to 43 the number of avalanche-related deaths in the Himalayan region in two days, officials said. On Saturday, an avalanche killed 26 people, including 13 Japanese. Rescuers armed with special digging equipment rushed to a remote region near the 8,848-metre (29,028 feet) high Mount Everest to look for the bodies of the Japanese trekkers buried in two metres (yards) of deep snow, tourism officials said. "Our rescue helicopter should be reaching the accident site in the morning," Pawan Rana of Trans-Himalayan Trekking, which organised the expedition, told Reuters. Some officials from a Japanese trekking agency were also in the team, he said. Seventeen people were killed in the Himalayan kingdom on Sunday when earth loosened by continuous rains buried houses and trekkers' lodges in Manang and Panchathar districts, the Home (Interior) Ministry said. Among the dead was a Canadian identified as Alan Sordi. No other details were available.The three other foreigners, including a woman, were not immediately identified. A Home Ministry spokesman said the four were among eight people killed when landslides buried eight houses and three trekkers' lodges in mid-west Nepal's Manang district. Some 50 foreign trekkers were stranded elsewhere in the mountainous nation, the daily Kantipur newspaper reported. The unexpected rains on Friday and Saturday, believed to be linked to cyclonic weather in the Bay of Bengal, caused temperatures to plummet. The Japanese, their Nepali Sherpa guides and porters were buried in the snow as they rested in an overnight camp at Pangka, some 275 km (170 miles) northeast of Kathmandu at around 1 a.m. on Saturday (1900 GMT on Friday. Nineteen others were rescued by helicopters. Saturday's incident was believed to be the biggest avalanche disaster to strike a trekking or mountaineering expedition in Nepal, whose towering peaks and pristine valleys attract about 65,000 foreign hikers each year. The Japanese trekkers were making their way to the popular trekking destination of Gokyo Valley in the region of the world's tallest peak. The valley is some 18 km (12 miles) southwest of Everest. In 1972, 14 mountaineerers, mostly Koreans, were killed over by avalanches on Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth highest peak at 8,163 metres (26,775 feet) high. Subject: Nepal rescuers find miraculous survivor, toll 42 Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 8:50:07 PST KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuter) - A teenage boy given up for dead in an avalanche survived a 24-hour ordeal and was pulled from deep snow Sunday, safe except for frostbite, Nepali rescue officials said. The rescue of 17-year-old Deepak Nepali against all the odds made the death toll in weekend avalanches in the Himalayan kingdom 42, down from an earlier announced 43. A total of 17 foreigners are known to have died -- 13 Japanese trekkers killed by Saturday's avalanche and an Irish woman, two Canadians and a German buried in a landslide. Rescuers Sunday helped some 115 foreign trekkers from a snow-ravaged valley near Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. "Some of the rescued were in shoulder-deep snow," said Bikash J.B. Rana, a Nepal Airways helicopter pilot who took part. "Most are suffering from snow blindness, frostbite and hunger,: Rana said. "Many of them would have died had rescuers not reached them today." The avalanche in which the 13 Japanese died Saturday was also believed to have killed 13 Nepalis. But Deepak managed to survive by perching between two rocks in four-foot deep snow, rescue officials said. The Japanese, their Sherpa guides and porters were buried in the snow as they slept in a camp at Pangka, some 170 miles northeast of Kathmandu about 1 a.m. Saturday. The Japanese were trekking their way to the Gokyo Valley,the popular hiking area 12 miles southwest of Everest. Another 17 people were killed when landslides caused by continuous rains crushed houses and trekkers' lodges in Manang and Panchathar districts. The four foreigners who died in Manang district in mid-western Nepal were a Canadian named Alan Sordi, another Canadian, an unidentified German and an Irish women named only as Mary Josephine, the Home (Interior) Ministry said. Tourism officials said there could be up to 500 foreigners in the Everest region. More trekkers may have been stranded in Taplejung district, east of Everest, rescue officials said. Rescuers armed with special digging equipment rushed to a remote region near the 29,028 foot peak.The bodies of five Japanese and three Nepalis were pulled out, but rescue work was hampered by diffficult conditions. Food packets, medicines and clothes were dropped from helicopters in the Gokyo Valley area. Saturday's avalanche was the worst disaster to strike a trekking or mountaineering expedition in Nepal, whose towering peaks and pristine valleys attract about 65,000 foreign hikers and climbers each year. Subject: Rescue resumes for survivors of Nepal disaster Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 4:40:06 PST KATHMANDU, Nov 13 (Reuter) - Rescuers resumed their search on Monday for survivors of one of Nepal's worst avalanche disasters which killed at least 42 people including 12 Japanese buried in their sleep near Mount Everest, officials said. Bad weather and poor visibility stalled rescue operations on Monday, and officials said they did not know how many of an estimated 500 foreign trekkers were trapped in the mountains by freezing cold weather, deep snow and avalanches. A helicopter and small airplane finally left late in the morning for the remote region near Everest where 25 trekkers, including 13 Japanese, were buried in an avalanche on Saturday. Seventeen others including four Westerners, an Irish woman, two Canadians and a German, perished as houses collapsed elsewhere in Nepal. Before rescue operations were interrupted, workers armed with special digging equipment had ferried more than a hundred foreign trekkers to safety with the help of helicopters. By Monday afternoon rescuers had recovered 21 bodies including the remains of 12 Japanese hikers, trekking agency officials said. Rameshwar Lal Shrestna of Trans-Himalayan Trekkers said six of the 12 Japanese victims whose bodies were found had been identified. "We have already informed the families of these victims in Japan and they are coming to receive the bodies," he said. He gave their names as Iwao Oki, Hiroshi Tanabe, Mieko Ishi, Cichi Yamade, Ikuo Irizawa and Takayuki Nakamura. The Japanese trekkers as well as 13 Nepali guides and porters were buried in the snow as they rested in an overnight camp at Pangka, some 275 km (170 miles) northeast of Kathmandu, at around 1 a.m. on Saturday (1900 GMT on Friday). The Japanese hikers were making their way to the popular trekking destination of Gokyo Valley in the region of the 8,848-metre (29,028 feet) high peak. The valley is some 18 km (12 miles) southwest of Everest. A 17-year-old Nepali, perched between two rocks, was pulledout alive on Sunday from the deep snow, unharmed except for frost bite. The victims' bodies were being kept at Pangka until coffins arrive from the Nepali capital Kathmandu, Shrestna said. The bodies were not expected in Kathmandu until Tuesday. Foreign trekkers who were rescued from the Gokyo, Na and Mera peak areas in the same region as Pangka were being lodged in Namche or Syangboche, gateways to the world's highest peak. They were not expected to be ferried to Kathmandu until rescuers finished evacuating stranded trekkers. Saturday's incident was believed to be the biggest avalanche disaster to strike a trekking or mountaineering expedition in Nepal, whose towering peaks and deep valleys attract some 65,000 foreign hikers each year. November is the peak season for foreign trekkers. But a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal last week provoked unusually heavy snowfall, catching many trekkers and their guides off guard. Stan Armington of Malla Treks in Kathmandu said 500 to 1,000 foreigners come to the Himalayan kingdom every year to climb peaks, while more than 60,000 more visitors are trekkers. From: mattf@cac.washington.edu (Matthew Freedman) Newsgroups: rec.travel.asia,rec.backcountry,rec.climbing,soc.culture.nepal Subject: Re: Snow Deaths in Nepal Date: 14 Nov 1995 17:46:30 GMT Organization: University of Washington Here are some more news reports, more details are starting to come in. The ones at the end are newest. Most of these are from Reuters,and two from the Kathmandu Post, which I just found out is on the net,at http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~rshresth/ktmpost/news-home.html. One report says seven lodges were buried in a landslide at Bagarchap. Anybody who has done the Annapurna circuit has passed through this village. It is/was perched on the edge of a large cliff,in a very very steep valley. It is the first "Tibetan-style" villageon the circuit (going counter-clockwise).I have added rec.climbing and soc.culture.nepal to the Newsgroupslist, since there is discussion of this tragedy in both these groupsas well. -- Matt ---------------- Subject: Trekkers evacuated after Nepal avalanche disaster Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 9:20:08 PST KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuter) - Rescuers evacuated over 230 people, nearly half of them foreign trekkers inlcuding 12 Americans, trapped in the Himalayas after one of Nepal's worst avalanche disasters near Mount Everest, officials said Monday. The helicopter rescue operation followed avalanches that killed at least 42 people. Seventeen others, including four Westerners -- two Canadians, an Irish woman and a German -- perished as houses collapsed elsewhere in Nepal. Eight helicopters carried out the rescues and a total of 237 people, including 111 foreigners, were taken to safety, a Nepali government spokesman said. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered rescuers and officials said they did not know how many of an estimated 500 foreign trekkers were trapped in the mountains by freezing cold weather, deep snow and avalanches. November is the peak season for foreign trekkers. But a huge cyclone in the Bay of Bengal last week provoked unusually heavy snowfall, catching many trekkers and their guides off guard. The helicopters ferried survivors from the Gokyo valley near Everest, the world's highest peak, Manang in mid-west Nepal and Langtang in central Nepal, government spokesman Prachanda Man Shrestha said. The rescue team evacuated 12 Americans, nine Britons, 10 Japanese, nine Australians and two Germans, he said. Seven Japanese, including the country's ambassador to Nepal, Shigenobu Yoshida, were rescued and brought to Kathmandu from the Langtang area, Shreshta said. Yoshida was visiting Langtang region to inspect a small project launched with Japanese assistance. Nine American nationals along with seven Britons were rescued from the Hongku in the Everest region, east of Gokyo valley where 13 Japanese were buried in an avalanche on Saturday. The other three Americans were evacuated from the Gokyo valley, the spokesman said. By Monday afternoon rescuers had recovered 21 bodies including the remains of 12 Japanese hikers, trekking agency officials said.Hitoshi Motoyoshi, a Japanese climber coordinating with the Trans-Himalayan Trekkers said Nepali guides and rescue workers were using shovels to clear the snow to search for the body of the remaining Japanese victim.The Japanese trekkers, as well as 13 Nepali guides and porters, were buried in the snow as they rested at an overnight camp at Pangka, some 170 miles northeast of Kathmandu, at around 1 a.m. Saturday (2 P.M EDT Friday). The Japanese hikers were making their way to the popular trekking destination of Gokyo Valley in the region of the 29,028 feet high peak. The valley is some 12 miles southwest of Everest. The victims' bodies were being kept at Pangka until coffins arrive from the Nepali capital Kathmandu, Shrestna said. The bodies were not expected in Kathmandu until Tuesday. Foreign trekkers who were rescued from the Gokyo, Na and Mera peak areas in the same region as Pangka were being lodged in Namche or Syangboche, gateways to Everest. They were not expected to be ferried to Kathmandu until rescuers finished evacuating stranded trekkers. Nepal's towering peaks and deep valleys attract some 65,000 foreign hikers each year. ---- 29 Bodies Recovered In Khumbu, Manang ;Rescue Works Continue, 85 Airlifted To Safety ;By a Post Reporter KATHMANDU, Nov 12 - Rescuers have so far recovered 10 bodies of Japanese trekkers and 8 bodies of Sherpas buried in an avalanche in the Gokyo area in Khumbu region on Sunday. One Nepalese guide was reportedly found alive while three Japanese trekkers are still missing. Rescue team has airlifted 85 persons to safety from the Gokyo area, officialstold The Kathmandu Post Sunday. Officials said rescuers were also trying to airlift about 25 trekkers in the Manang region which was also struck by a landslide Friday following two days of torrential rains. So far 33 persons, including 22 foreign tourists, have been reported dead by the avalanche and landslide and officials fear the figure could mount as the operation continues. Meanwhile tour operators say, more than 50 trekkers were in the Gokyo area whenthe avalanche hit at around 1 PM Saturday. There could be more tourists in the area since other tour operators also handle trekking tours in the region, saida Trans Himalayan Tours official. His agency was handling 13 Japanese tourists and all of them are feared dead. In Manang, Bagaarchaap, search team has found all 11 bodies of tourists swept away by the landslide. Four bodies of European trekkers were airlifted to the capital on Sunday. According to police the dead include a Canadian and a woman from Ireland. The nationalities of the other foreigners is yet to be established.Of the eight Nepali villagers reported missing in the area, the bodies of seven have been recovered. We fear that there could be more casualties, since local lodge owners say most of the lodgers have gone missing, Palden Gurung, the MP for Manang said shortly after arriving from his constituency. Gurung estimated the damage in Manang to be worth around Rs 20 million. The landslide also swept away 17 houses in the area. The tragedy which struck the nations Himalayan region is considered the worst ever. Last year 13 climbers lost their lives on the slopes of Mt. Pisang in Dhaulagiri zone.In the aftermath of the tragedy, a rescue task force has been formed here inthe capital comprising the Tourism Ministry, Himalayan Rescue Association, Trekking Agents Association Nepal, Nepal Mountaineering Institute and the Nepal Police. Royal Nepal Army is also conducting rescue helicopter flights in boththe areas. Rescue flights are being operated along Hinku valley, Makalu Barun area, Kanchanjunga, Ghunsa and Everest regions in the east and along Gorkha, Manaslu,Larkela Pass and Thorongla Pass in the west. In places where helicopters havebeen unable to land due to heavy snow, rations and first aid equipment have been dropped where people have been sighted. Snow in the Gokyo region is 3.5metres deep.As the rescue operations continue, new information has emerged that suggests the lives might have been saved had the tour operators asked for a special weather forecast from the Department of Meteorology, and had the department foreseen the foul weather that was to hit Gokyo area. The Department puts out a special weather bulletin only on request, and department officials said tour operators sometimes ask for such bulletins. They did not request this time, an official said. However, even if such a request had been placed, it would not have been of any help. According to an official in the Department, his agency had not foreseen any foul weather in the Himalayas that day. That is surprising, say observers, who point out that most of South Asia was experiencing the effects of a cyclone which hit the Bay of Bengal around that time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: 12 Americans Rescued in NepalDate: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 20:30:15 PST KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- Twelve Americans were rescued Monday from a mountainous region that was the scene of Nepal's deadliest avalanche in four decades. Twenty-two people were confirmed dead and three were missing. The avalanche struck eastern Nepal near Mt. Everest on Friday night, engulfing three lodges where 26 people were staying -- 13 Japanese, their 11 Nepalese guides and the two Nepalese lodge owners. One Nepalese guide survived. The Trans-Himalayan Trekking Co., which organized the expedition, said that on Monday, the bodies of two Japanese and one Nepalese were recovered. The bodies of 19 other victims were found over the weekend. One Japanese and two Nepalese are still missing, the company said. The avalanche caused Nepal's highest one-day death toll since the country opened to tourists in the 1950s. Twelve Americans trapped in the same area by heavy snow were rescued by government helicopters near Panga, a village in a valley on the southern face of Everest. Panga is at an altitude of 15,810 feet. Their identities were not immediately known. Another American walked out on his own. "We were trapped for two days in heavy snow. It was difficult to come out. It took 12 hours instead of three hours," said Itsuro Motoyama, 55, of Pittsburgh. He spoke from Katmandu, where he arrived Monday. On Sunday, 85 trekkers were rescued by helicopter from the Panga area, many of them foreigners. Their names and nationalities were not immediately available. In western Nepal, 11 people were killed Friday night in a landslide that swept away homes and lodges in the village of Bagarchap. The dead included two Canadians, a German and an Irish woman.The landslide was caused by rain from the same storm that caused the deadly avalanche. Last year, 13 German climbers and their Nepalese guides died while they were climbing in the Himalayas, apparently when their rope snapped. --- Subject: Nepal death toll rises to 49 as seven bodies found Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 2:20:23 PST KATHMANDU, Nov 14 (Reuter) - Rescuers in helicopters found seven bodies, including those of three Japanese trekkers, buried in snow on Tuesday, raising the death toll in one of Nepal's worst avalanche disasters to 49, officials said. The bodies of four Nepali nationals were found with the three dead Japanese near Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain some 500 km (300 miles) east of the Himalayan kingdom's capital Kathmandu. The victims, whose bodies were airlifted to nearby Kansu village, were not identified. Rescuers continued to search on Tuesday for hundreds of foreign trekkers stranded in the Himalayan mountains by heavy snowfall. Altogether 42 people, including 17 foreigners, died over the weekend after a freak storm dumped two metres (six feet) of snow. A huge avalanche buried 25 people, including 13 Japanese, near Mount Everest. Seventeen others, including four foreigners, died as houses collapsed elsewhere in Nepal. Two of the four foreigners killed in a landslide that buried 17 houses including seven tourist lodges in Manang region were identified on Tuesday as Mary Josephine Harkin of Ireland and Armen Sehleicher of Germany. The bodies of the two others were being kept at the German embassy in Kathmandu. Three foreigners whose back packs were found in Manang were reported missing -- Canadian Mitchell Karper, German Gernot Selber Mayer and Briton Nicholas Ellman. By midday on Tuesday, helicopters had plucked 477 people including 178 foreigners from the snows, mostly from the Everest region which was the hardest hit area. The names of those who were evacuated were not available. "This is the first time that such a large trekking area has been hit by disaster," government spokesman Prachanda Man Shrestha said. Officials said hundreds, perhaps thousands, of foreign trekkers had set out on hiking expeditions across the Himalayan kingdom before the freak snow storm, churned up by a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, hit the region. November is the peak season for trekkers. Some 9,000 foreigners registered in the three weeks to November 8 for trekking expeditions in seven locations. About 2,700 said they planned to go to the Everest region, while 3,200 were headed to Annapurna area and another 300 to the Kanchenjunga region. Officials said they did not know exactly how many trekkers, guides and porters had been trapped in the mountains by freezing cold weather, deep snow and avalanches. On Monday helicopters ferried survivors from the Gokyo valley in the Everest region, Manang in mid-west Nepal and Langtang in central Nepal, Shrestha said. By Monday rescuers had evacuated 12 Americans, 10 Japanese, nine Britons, nine Australians and two Germans, he said. Seven Japanese, including the ambassador to Nepal, Shigenobu Yoshida, were rescued and brought to Kathmandu from the Langtang area. Yoshida was visiting Langtang region to inspect a small project launched with Japanese assistance. The nine U.S. nationals along with seven Britons were rescued from the Hongku in the Everest region, east of Gokyo Valley where 13 Japanese were buried in an avalanche. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Khumbu Tragedy: 25 More Bodies Recovered By a Post ReporterKATHMANDU, Nov 13 - Rescuers have recoverd the bodies of 12 Japanese trekkersand 13 Nepali Sherpas buried in an avalanche in Gokyo in the Khumbu region Sunday.Seven helicopters operating rescue flights over the last two days have airlifted 128 persons, including 56 foreigners and 72 Nepalis to safety in Syangboche and Lukla.Sixteen foreigners, including nine Americans and seven British nationals, and 32 Nepalis were transported to safety from Hinku Valley to Lukla. Thirty-six persons, including two British, one Scot, four Australian, two Dutch, two New Zealand,two Japanese, two French, three American, one Canadian and one Norwegian national have been airlifted from Gokyo to Syangboche. Rescue flights transported 30 persons - 20 Nepalis, one Japanese and nine Australians from Gokyo to Lukla. Two German nationals have been airlifted from AmaDablam Base camp. None of the airlifted persons have suffered injuries, informed an official of the rescue task force set up in the capital. People were crawling in the snow. I could see hands waving from the snow -covered huts, a pilot returning from a flight in the Hinku region said. More than 50 trekkers, including a group of 25 Italian trekkers were reportedly in the Gokyo region when the avalanche struck around 1 am Saturday, making officials fear that the death toll could mount. No one is certain of the numberof trekkers in the area. No bodies will be brought to the capital before the rescue mission is complete, an official said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------