Bodies of Spanish trekker, guides recovered from Nepal slide

KATHMANDU, Nepal – The bodies of a Spanish trekker and two Nepalese guides were recovered from a landslide and flown to Nepal’s capital Friday, while 15 other victims were being treated at a hospital in Kathmandu, rescuers and officials said.

The group was trekking near Mount Manaslu on Thursday when a landslide swept them off the trail near Kerauja village, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Kathmandu. The seasonal monsoon is subsiding in Nepal, but heavy rains over the weekend triggered the slide in the mountainous terrain.

Tshering Lama, who is co-ordinating the rescue, said the body of one Nepalese trekker appeared to have been washed away by a river while it was being recovered and attempts were being made to find it.

Government administrator Narayan Prasad Bhatta said the bodies were taken by helicopter to a hospital morgue in Kathmandu.

The bodies of the Nepalese guides were expected to be handed over to their families, but arrangements for the Spanish trekker were unclear. There is no Spanish embassy in Nepal.

An official at Vayodha Hospital said 13 foreigners and two Nepalese were receiving treatment there but would not disclose any details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.