Security agencies—Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force—that are involved in rescue and response measures to help dozens of trekkers trapped along the famous Annapurna circuit were put on standby since Friday morning but the Home Ministry failed to send more choppers to their aid, said Devendra Lamichhane, Manang CDO.

“We have asked for more helicopters to rescue people trapped in remote mountainous areas. No help has come our way,” he said, adding that the lack of helicopters has hampered rescue efforts in remote Manang. Three to four helicopters are in operation for search and rescue work.

An exceptional weather on Tuesday, influenced by Cyclone Hudhud, caused devastation in the western mountains resulting in at least 29 deaths in Thorong La pass in Mustang, Nar-Fu and Kanglang areas in Manang and Dhaulagiri Base Camp in Myagdi districts.

On Friday, several rescue teams deployed in affected areas rescued 46 trekkers trapped for 72 hours. In the last three days, 243 people have been rescued from places in Mustang, Manang and Myagdi. Manang locals have criticised the government’s “inefficiency” in providing help to those trapped in the snow. Local police have said they are unable to find the whereabouts of the missing in Fu and Kamlang areas without trained rescue workers.

Ministry spokesman Yadav Koirala said the government has put in place all the necessary measures.

“We have mobilised 7-8 helicopters every day to bring bodies and to locate people for rescue,” he said.

The government on Thursday formed a high-level committee headed by Tourism Minister Bhim Acharya to facilitate coordination and communication among all the concerned agencies engaged in the humanitarian effort.

‘Compelled to abandon 9 friends’

Kumar Tamang

“After completing the Dhaulagiri circuit trek in 12 days, our team was making the return trip. On the way, through the ‘Hidden Valley’ crossing the Ekle Bhatti bridge and past Khalek village, we finally reached Deurali where we decided to camp for the night.

Three tents were set up, two for the three Swiss guests and one for us, cooks, porters and guides. The wind was strong that evening. It picked more speed as the night approached. Soon, the wind was accompanied by snow. After a long discussion on whether we should move on or stay put, the team members decided to spend the night there. It was freezing cold and we could not sleep. Some time during the night our tent was buried under a huge heap of snow.

We somehow managed to get out. By the time, the tents where the three guests were staying were half buried under the snow, but since they had pitched on an elevated part of the ground, they were not in the harm’s way. We spent the night, huddled together with the guests inside their tents. The next morning, the ground was completely covered with snow. The path and the landmarks that we used for navigation was gone, all buried under snow. We reached for our mobile phones to call for rescue, but there was no network coverage.

We were stranded. Our predicament got worse when one of the tourists fractured his leg trying to pull his foot from the snow. Since we did not have the proper gear to keep us warm, four of us got into one sleeping bag and waited for daylight, hoping that maybe a rescue helicopter  would spot us. We were hungry, but we could not even hold the food with our hands. The help did not arrive that day. We slept the second night right there, our bodies covered in snow. Nine of our porter friends had already reached a condition where they could not move. After the sun came up the next morning, one of the foreigners, Alfred, and I decided to move ahead to find help.

We came across Haans, Kal and cook Nima laying on the snow unable to move, but we pressed on hoping that maybe we will find a rescue team to help them. Making our way ahead, Alfred and I met some trekkers to our great relief. They carried us for hours from Sangdang till Jomsom.

I had lost my eyesight by then. I was rescued by the Nepal Army helicopter along with two tourists from New Zealand and admitted to the hospital. In my four years of experience in this line of work, I had never been through such a situation.  I do not think the nine porters that we left there are alive and I don’t know about the other three as well. Had we decided to move on instead of camping out at Deurali that night, we might have escaped and our team members would have been all right now.”

(Based on correspondent Prem Nepali’s interview with porter Tamang at hospital)

Ban on trekking along Thorong La

Kathmandu: Annapurna Conservation Area Project and the western chapter of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (Taan) have agreed to restrict the entry of trekkers along the Annapurna Circuit that passes through Thorong La pass. The decision was taken in view of the safety concerns of the people moving in the region, said Taan Chairman Ram Chandra Sharma. The restriction does not apply for those willing to go up to Upper Manang , which falls on the Annapurna Circuit route. (PR)