British trekkers in Nepal have been urged to contact their families after blizzards and avalanches in the Himalayas killed at least 38 people and injured more than 175.
The Foreign Office said some families were still awaiting news of their relatives following the unseasonal weather that trapped hundreds on the Annapurna circuit.
It was working with authorities in Nepal to account for every Briton believed to be in the area. A spokeswoman said they were not aware of any British casualties.
Officials have asked Britons to contact the British consulate in Kathmandu to confirm their whereabouts.
One worried relative, Christopher Kneale, said he spent days desperately trying to contact his daughter Clare Glazebrook and her husband Jamie. He finally received an email from the trekking company the couple were travelling with confirming they were safe, but has still been unable to contact them directly. “It’s been tense and horrific – not knowing was the worst,” Kneale told the BBC.
Nepalese officials said most of those trapped in huts and lodges on the circuit have now been rescued – many by helicopter.
Tourists from Canada, India, Israel, Slovakia and Poland died, along with Nepalese guides and porters, when the extreme weather struck last week.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to warn against trekking in the Thorang-La pass. Nepal has closed a section of the Annapurna circuit to stop tourists returning to the area.
