Several avalanches in central Nepal have killed at least 26 people.<br /><br />The confirmed dead are mainly trekkers, guides and local farmers and include eight foreigners.<br /><br />Rescue officials say the toll could rise because dozens more people were out of contact due to poor communication links.<br /><br />Unseasonal blizzards and lashing rain brought on by cyclone Hudhud triggered avalanches mainly near Annapurna, and the district of Mustang. <br /><br />A helicopter pilot is said to have spotted more bodies in the snow but heavy snowfalls are making it impossible to retrieve them.<br /><br />The hikers’ deaths come during the peak trekking season in Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Everest.<br /><br />Nepal’s tourism industry is still recovering from the aftershocks of an ice avalanche that struck the lower reaches of Mount Everest in April, killing 16 sherpa guides.
