Nepal’s tourism ministry has attributed the high death toll of trekkers in the Himalayan snowstorm to penny-pinching tourists reluctant to spend money on a personal mountain guide.
In comments likely to anger many survivors, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman of the tourism Ministry, said many of the victims were ‘cheaper tourists’ who did not want to hire guides.
"If they were with a guide then they would have had a much better idea about the weather," Sapkota said.
The snowstorm hit Thorong Pass on the popular Annapurna Circuit walking route, trapping hundreds of trekkers.
The death toll has reportedly reached 43 but will probably rise to around 50 before everybody is accounted for, said the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, which is helping to coordinate the search for more stranded trekkers.
Despite the comments from the tourism ministry, survivors said some guides encouraged trekkers to cross the Thorong Pass even as weather started to deteriorate.
Small avalanches hampered the search for Nepali porters and guides missing for six days after a devastating Himalayan storm.
Rescue crews began to scale back the hunt for survivors.
Nearly 600 people have been rescued from the popular hiking trail around Annapurna after it was hit by unseasonable snow and avalanches brought by the tail end of a cyclone that swept through neighboring India.
By TravelMole Asia
