Three French trekkers among 170+ dead in Himalayas floods

Three French tourists are among among the 177 people killed in flash floods in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, an Indian government official said Tuesday. Two other Europeans – one French, the other Spanish - have also died.

Reuters

The French trekkers had been missing since Thursday evening near the village of Sumda Chenmo after being cut off by a river which had spilled its banks, according to an email from the family of one of the tourists seen by the AFP news agency.

The announcement was the first report of European deaths in the disaster in the rugged, remote region favoured as an adventure sports destination.

Hundreds of people are still missing days after the floods, caused by a cloudburst, hit the region. In Leh, the region's main town, soldiers and emergency relief teams sifted through flattened homes searching for bodies.

Some 150 bodies have been identified, police say. A military official said seven soldiers were killed in the freak floods caused by a cloudburst.

Hundreds more people are feared to have died.