Nepal – Search mission (Nov. 5, 2021)

France is sending a search mission to Nepal today to find our three compatriots who were swept away by an avalanche in late October.

This extraordinary operation organized by the Crisis and Support Center of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of France in Katmandu will be carried out by the Gendarmerie Nationale.

The operation will be conducted by a 14-person team that includes 10 gendarmes from various High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoons (PGHM), the Mountain Technical Coordination Unit (UCTM), and the National Gendarmerie Center for Ski and Mountaineering Instruction (CNISAG), as well as two identification experts from the Gendarmerie’s Forensic Research Institute (IRCGN), a military physician, a member of the French Federation of Alpine and Mountaineering Clubs, and an avalanche rescue dog. Projected reinforcements will come mainly from the Alps.