CAIRO and KATHMANDU: Nepali guide Tenzin believes that the avalanche that killed a number of trekkers in the country over the weekend was a “random incident” and that it should not deter foreigners from coming to the country to climb the world's tallest peaks. “What happened just happened and we don't think anything could have solved it or helped those people. It was just bad luck,” the Tibetan tour guide told Bikyamasr.com. His comments came as some internationally questioned whether Nepal was responding quickly enough to the accident that left at least 9 trekkers, including foreigners, dead. For guides like Tenzin, weather on the mountains can change at any moment. “And with an avalanche, there really isn't anything you can do except hope it doesn't happen to you,” he added. Sunday's accident was the latest incident to see trekkers killed in the country and has officials looking at increasing weather monitoring and information gathering to deliver to expeditions in order to help better gauge climbing in the country. Officials said two bodies had been recovered while a further seven were spotted on the slopes of Mount Manaslu in the north of the country. The avalanche reportedly struck a base camp near the summit on Saturday. The two bodies recovered are said to be of a German and a Nepalese guide. Police official Basanta Bahadur Kuwar was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency that 10 people had survived the avalanche, but many among them were injured. They were being flown to hospitals by rescue helicopters, he added. Officials are trying to determine exactly how many people were in the climbing party. In May, 15 people were killed in a plane crash in the northwestern region of the country. The Nepal Army said the plane belonging to Agni Air crashed in the early morning after it slammed into the side of a mountain near Mount Annapurna close to Jomsom. Ramindra Chettri, Nepal's Army spokesperson, told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday that the military was looking at new ways to disseminate information to guides and those involved with expeditions. “We have seen a number of incidents, and while this specific one today was probably very difficult to avoid, it does show the need to get better and quicker information out there," he added. The climbers had been at 7,000 meters as they prepared to head toward the summit, at 8,156 meters. “The avalanche hit camp three of the Manaslu peak ... resulting in a flood of snow," said Laxmi Dhakal, head of the Nepali home ministry's disaster response division.
