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Families of Britons trekking in Nepal have expressed concern at not being able to contact them following horrific blizzards and avalanches which have killed at least 32 people.
The Foreign Office confirmed they had been contacted by concerned families who have not heard from their relatives in days.
A spokeswoman said they had been in close touch with the Nepalese authorities but have not been informed of any British casualties.
The Times newspaper reported that a number of British people are unaccounted for, including engineer Peter Roddis.
Lisa Hallet, the girlfriend of Mr Roddis, reportedly from Brighton, said she had last spoken to him on Wednesday.
“He said he was planning to head out that day or on Thursday, but I have not heard from him since,” she told the paper.
Following concerns that another trekker, advertising executive Lizi Hamer was missing, a friend posted on Facebook today to say she was safe.
“They’re both safe and sound. Lizi says they missed the storm and are going to be back next week. They’re out of reach due to poor signal,” they wrote.
Yesterday a British survivor described how he escaped the Himalayan mountaineering disaster.
Paul Sheridan said walkers were left stumbling through “an abyss of nothing” as dense snow left them unable to orient themselves on the slopes of the Annapurna range in northern Nepal.
Sheridan said that trekkers should have been prevented from going up the mountain, but were “herded to their deaths” by guides who he alleged were not carrying the correct emergency equipment.
Rescuers have pulled out more than 230 trekkers – most of them foreigners – since rescue efforts began on Wednesday, and are still searching for more survivors, who are believed to be stranded in lodges and huts. Hiking remains difficult because of waist-deep snow.
The Nepalese government has announced a high level committee with two senior ministers to monitor and co-ordinate rescue efforts in what is shaping up to be the country’s worst mountaineering tragedy.
