KATHMANDU: The joint search and rescue team of Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force today recovered the dismembered bodies of 53 more persons who had gone missing after the April 25 earthquake unleashed a massive landslide and avalanche in Langtang village of Rasuwa.

Security personnel led by Disaster Assessment and Response Team of Nepali Army dug through the debris in search of missing persons after the avalanche and mudslide subsided.

Of the recovered bodies, 50 belong to Nepalis and three of the bodies are of foreigners. The NA Directorate of Public Relations said the search for missing persons is still going on.

DSP Pravin Pokharel, in-charge of District Police Office, Rasuwa told The Himalayan Times over phone that the 50 bodies belonged to the locals. The bodies were handed over to their respective kin after fulfilling legal procedures later in the day. The three bodies of foreigners are still in the custody of government authorities for identification. “Some bodies were decomposing due to environmental exposure while the flesh of others were believed to have been eaten by vultures beyond recognition. The locals identified the bodies of their loved ones on the basis of clothes that they were wearing,” he informed.

Langtang village was completely destroyed by the earthquake. There were more than 700 persons there before April 25, but now it has been reduced to 492. Survivors of the twin disasters — earthquake and avalanche — that devastated Langtang village on April 25, were evacuated to the premises of Yellow Gompa Monastery near Namgyal Chowk in Swoyambhu.

Meanwhile, the NA has cleared up to one-kilometre stretch of Syafrubesi-Kenzing road that had been blocked after landslides were triggered by the earthquake.