South Korean members of an expedition team who have been rescued after an avalanche hit trekkers on the Annapurna region in the Himalayas have returned home, while four are still missing.
One of the officials from the South Chungcheong Office of Education said upon arrival at Incheon International Airport early this morning that the event was "completely unexpected" due to the nice weather.
An avalanche hit the circuit trekking route of Annapurna in Nepal at an altitude of around 3,230 meters on Friday.
The missing trekkers, two women in their 30s and 50s and two men in their 50s, are teachers who were staying in Nepal for volunteer work.
Seoul's foreign ministry dispatched a rapid response team to the scene and Nepalese authorities have launched land and air search operations, but have yet to find the missing trekkers as inclement weather conditions are hampering the rescue operations.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
