Avalanche in Manang district of Nepal: Reports say local guide killed, Dutch trekker missing after weeks of heavy snowfall

A Nepali guide was reported dead and a Dutch trekker is missing after an avalanche in the Manang district of Nepal on Friday.

Manang town is a popular stop for trekkers and mountaineers on the Annapurna Circuit and is at an altitude of 3,519 metres. The entire district, however, witnesses heavy snowfall and rain across winter. In February, The Himalayan Times reported  on how transport and communication services had been adversely affected due to continuous rainfall followed by snowfall in the district, limiting locals to their houses. “Snow has continuously battered the regions of Upper Manang, Tanki Manang, Bhakra, Ghyaru, Khangsar, Pisang and district headquarters Chame,” the report quoted Manang resident Melina Gurung as having said. Avalanches often prove deadly to trekking enthusiasts in Nepal. A blizzard and avalanche in 2014 killed at least 20 people, nearly half of them foreigners, in the midst of the October trekking season in Manang and Thorong La, a pass along a popular trekking circuit. In Manang district alone, four Canadians and one Indian trekker were buried in an avalanche along the mountain pass, the New York Times had reported then .