(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Bodies of 20 people missing since the April 25 earthquake have been discovered in Nepal's Langtang Valley, authorities said yesterday.
The bodies were sighted as the snow started melting on the mountains.
"Three bodies were retrieved two days ago, the villagers have discovered 17 more," Shivaram Gelal, the chief district officer of Rasuwa district in Langtang district, said by phone.
"There are some villagers in the region, who are in need of relief. When we fly the food in, we will be flying security officials who will retrieve the bodies and bring them to Kathmandu for
autopsy."
Gelal said they were waiting for the weather to improve so that helicopters could be flown in.
The bodies were badly decomposed and would be sent to the capital for DNA testing, The Kathmandu Post
reported.
The valley was ravaged by avalanches triggered by the earthquake, killing scores of people including tourists and displacing villagers.
The valley, near the Tibetan plateau, is the third most popular destination for trekkers in Nepal, after the Khumbu and the Annapurna regions.
The 7.9-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.
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.
Recent landslides caused by monsoon rains on soil loosened by the tremors have killed 90 people in last two months, according to the Nepal's home ministry.
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