Nepal intensifies search for 300 people missing in Langtang

Rescue teams have intensified search operations in Lantang region, one of the worst affected by the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, to find roughly 300 people who have reportedly gone missing.

Among the missing people are around 100 foreigners but the authorities do not expect to find any survivors.

Gautam Rimal, a government official, told Efe news agency that rescuers have been doing "everything necessary" to find some 200 Nepalese nationals and roughly 100 foreigners who have gone missing in the tourist area.

"We are not sure of the number. However according to the entry and exit records in Langtang, we suspect more than 300 people missing," Rimal said, adding that additional support had been requested from Kathmandu.

During the devastating earthquake on April 25, at least 463 people were killed in the region, among them nine foreigners, whose bodies were transferred to Kathmandu by helicopter, he added.

Rimal acknowledged that the rescue teams did not expect to find survivors, and that some bodies were disfigured beyond recognition during the disaster, making identification difficult.

"Rescue operations in the mountainous regions are not that easy. Weather conditions change frequently," he added.

A team of civil guards and a military emergency unit from Spain will continue searching at least until Saturday, looking for six of their compatriots who went missing in Langtang.

According to official figures, the earthquake has left nearly 8,000 people dead and over 1600 missing, but the figures may possibly increase.