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Disaster
Rescuers search for survivors after avalanche kills seven tourists and injures 11 in Himalayas
The ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, which has been severely affected by global warming, is prone to avalanches.
AN AVALANCHE HAS swept away a group of tourists in the Himalayas in north-eastern India, killing at least seven and injuring 11.
Rescuers are searching for at least 30 others, according to army spokesperson Mahendra Rawat.
India’s Border Roads Organisation said the tourists were hit by the avalanche near the Nathu La mountain pass in Sikkim state.
Rescuers pulled 22 survivors from the snow and brought them to hospital for treatment.
Video footage released by the Indian army showed rescuers digging through the snow to find the missing who were swept away by the avalanche on to a mountain slope.
Nathu La mountain pass is along the border with China and is a major tourist destination.
The ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, which has been severely affected by global warming, is prone to avalanches.
Last year, 27 trainee mountaineers were killed in an avalanche in the northern Uttarakhand region.
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