Climbers missing in Himalayas

Seven French mountaineers and four Nepalese porters and guides are missing after a heavy snowfall hit the Himalayas in northwest Nepal, a government spokesman said today.

The climbers were trying to climb the 16,404-ft high Kangroo Mountain when they went missing three days ago.

Bad weather delayed the rescue operation, said Tourism Ministry spokesman Sharada Prasad Trital.

A helicopter search was launched today, Trital said.

Eleven Nepalese porters and Sherpa guides were part of the team. Three of them have reached Pokhara, a town about 125 miles west of the capital, Katmandu, said Bikram Neupane, chairman of the Himalayan Rescue Association.

Rescuers found four more of the Nepalese today near Kangroo Mountain's base camp, said another association official, Prakash Adhikari.

"We have received information about a heavy snowfall on the mountain, but the climbers are out of contact," said Bishwa Raj Sigdel, manager of Churen Himal Treks and Expedition, which organised the climbers' trip.