Nepal blizzards kill at least 20

Nepalese army personnel surround a victim rescued from the avalanche as they wait for a helicopter to land at Thorang-La in Annapurna Region in this October 15, 2014 handout photo provided by Nepal Army. [Photo/Agencies]

Two climbers from Slovakia and three Nepalese guides were also missing as night fell after an avalanche near the base camp of Dhaulagiri late on Tuesday, tourism department officials said. Dhaulagiri is the world's eighth-highest peak, at 8,167 metres (26,795 feet).

Army helicopters took 14 injured survivors to local hospitals. Some of the survivors were flown to Kathmandu.

"We have called off the rescue operation today due to heavy snowfall and darkness," army official Niranjan Shrestha said. "Rescue and search will continue early on Thursday."

Local television showed soldiers carrying stretchers bearing the bodies of dead hikers to and from rescue helicopters in Mustang.

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 in the worst disaster in the history of the world's highest peak.

More than a tenth of the nearly 800,000 tourists who visited Nepal in 2013 went hiking or mountain climbing, providing a key revenue stream for the aid-dependent nation, which relies on income from tourism for 4 percent of its gross domestic product.

The Annapurna Circuit, a trekking trail that goes around Mount Annapurna and was battered by the blizzards, is one of the most popular hiking routes in Nepal.