KATHMANDU: At least six trekkers including four Koreans went missing from Deurali area in Kaski district after an avalanche triggered by heavy snowfall hit the trail route along the Annapurna trekking circuit on Friday.

According to Arjun Paudel, General Secretary of Korea Tours and Trekking Operators Association, four Korean trekkers along with their two Nepali guides were missing in the avalanche. “Lee , Jeong , Kim and Jang along with their two Nepali Guides went missing in the avalanche near Deurali area,” he said, adding that identity of Nepali guides have not been known yet.

They had started ABC trekking on January 15, he added.

“At least three Taiwanese and two Chinese trekkers, who were also on their way to the Annapurna Base Camp, were reportedly hit by an avalanche near Deurali at Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality in Kaski district,” Paudel quoted trekking guide Ram Saran Shrestha as saying from the incident site.

Raj Kumar KC, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Pokhara, said that a police team has already left for Deurali to carry out search and rescue operations. “Details are still awaited,” he added.

The Korean trekkers’ team was managed by Kathmandu-based TravelNet Trekking company, Paudel said.

(The first name of the missing Korean tourists is withheld on family request.)