4 Canadians among 12 dead in Nepal avalanche

(Updated)

Four Canadians are among at least 12 people killed in an avalanche and blizzard in Nepal’s mountainous north.

This map gives a better idea of where these Canadian climbers were at the time of the avalanche.

Nepal is just north of India and south of Tibet. It’s capital is Kathmandu, which is located between two very popular climbing areas in the Himalayan mountain range. Mount Everest is to the northeast, and Manang — where the avalanche happened — is to the northwest. The mountains near Manang reach an elevation of 7 thousand metres — that’s about 23-thousand feet.

Details have been emerging all day about the four Canadians who were killed. A Montreal based travel agency says three Quebec women are among those missing and feared dead.

The travel agency says there were six people from Quebec in the area. Two women in their 50s — one who was an employee leading a hiking tour — and a woman in her 30s. They left Quebec on October 3rd for a three week trek. They are among those missing and feared dead. We also learned this afternoon that two Ottawa-area women are also among the hikers still unaccounted for.

Virginia Schwartz and Jane Van Criekingen were on a hiking trip. And are now missing in the mountains of Nepal

Schwartz is 37-years old from Quebec — just across the Ottawa border. We spoke to her brother, Mark Schwartz, by phone earlier today and he told us the two women left October 4th for a 22 day trek, but not with the tour group from Montreal.

This is a picture of Schwartz’s itinerary. On the weekend, she told her family she was heading to Manang which is where the avalanche hit.

While Mark declined a request for a formal interview, he did release a statement saying: “We last heard from her on Saturday morning past. She was approaching Pisang and heading to Manang.”

Until then, she’d been messaging her family regularly.

Mark has created this Facebook page hoping someone may have some information about his sister. Some hikers are still believed to be out of contact because the bad weather disrupted communications.

Representatives from the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal say the bodies of the four Canadians who were killed have been recovered. And three other Canadian trekkers have been rescued.

Reports out of Nepal say more than 100 people are missing.

Canadian officials say they’re continuing to look into the deaths and are in contact with local authorities in Nepal but haven’t released any details about the Canadians who died. At least one other Canadian tour group was in the area when the avalanche hit. The Montreal-based company said on its Facebook page today that its entire group was accounted for and unharmed. They were waiting until tomorrow to be evacuated by helicopter. As of tonight, the Facebook page created by Mark Schwartz now has people from all over the world posting information about their missing loved ones.