MH17 Parents Plead For End To 'Pointless War'

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Corespondent

The parents of three children killed in the MH17 tragedy have issued a heartbreaking statement, calling for the Ukraine war to end.

The bodies of the Maslin children, Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, 8, were returned to Australian soil on Thursday.

They died along with their grandfather, Nick Norris, after a missile shot the Malaysia Airlines jet out of the sky on 17 July, killing 298 people.

Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris said: "Our lives are an ongoing hell.

The plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people

"The pain we are enduring is unfathomable, and we grieve alongside families in the Ukraine, the Netherlands, Russia, Malaysia, Australia and elsewhere.

"Please respect our children's memory, and stop this pointless war.

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1. Gallery: Images Of Flight MH17 Wreckage

   The crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine

5. A pro-Russian separatist holds up a stuffed toy found at the crash site

6. Some 298 people were killed when flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists

7. Pro-Russian rebels have been accused of stopping investigators accessing the site

8. International pressure is growing on Russia to aid the investigation and apply pressure on the rebels

9. Body parts are now being removed by Ukraine emergency ministry staff. Continue for more images from the crash site

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis.

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick.

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other."

The couple paid moving tributes to their three children, who were among 38 Australians killed in the crash.

"We honour Mo - his wisdom, his compassionate heart, and his total selflessness. Mo is peaceful and inclusive," they said.

"We honour Evie and her boundless, unlimited love. She is empathetic, beautiful, funny, artistic and creative.

Video: MH17 'Split Into Pieces' In Flight

"We honour Otis and his complete and humbling fascination with all things outdoors, big and small, near and far.

"Oti provides all of us with carefree joy and laughter - perhaps the most powerful gift of all."

The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

The Maslin children had been travelling home to Perth with their grandfather while their parents stayed on in the Netherlands to enjoy a few extra days of holiday.

The couple go on to say they have been two of the "luckiest and happiest people on the planet" and their love for their children will never weaken.

"Our children were taken from us by a war in which we, and our country had no part. It is impossible to understand the reason they were blown out of the sky," they said.

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1. Gallery: Impact Marks On MH17 Fuselage

   These stills were released by the Dutch Safety Board on September 9, 2014

2. They show clearly visible puncture marks scattered across the fuselage of MH17

3. On July 17, the Malaysia Airlines flight lost all 298 passengers and crew

4. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur

5. The disaster occurred over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists

6. Crash investigators say it was probably downed by "a large number of high-energy objects"

7. The Dutch Safety Board has ruled out technical fault or human error

Australia wants investigation teams to re-examine the crash site.

Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, recently held a "detailed discussion" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

She said she received assurances from Mr Putin that he would help get access to the site, but could not give details of when that might happen.

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Easy Rider: Controversy Over Bike's $1.3m Sale

A chopper said to have featured in the movie Easy Rider has been auctioned off for $1.35m (£840,000) – but doubts have now emerged over its authenticity.

The "Captain America" motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson ridden by Peter Fonda in the 1969 film, attracted fierce bidding in California after being restored.

According to an auction brochure, more than one bike was built in the run-up to the movie but this was the only model still in existence.

However, a fan in Texas, Gordon Granger, said he owns the chopper actually used in the cult film – and claims he also has a certificate of authenticity from restorer Dan Haggerty.

Mr Haggerty - who had a bit part in the movie - admitted he had authenticated both bikes, but then assured reporters the only legitimate chopper was the one sold on Saturday night.

Peter Fonda, who starred in Easy Rider, has said the auction 'stinks'

Fonda, who co-wrote and starred in Easy Rider, was angered by the auction and had called for its cancellation.

"There's a big rat stinking someplace in this," he warned.

Profiles In History, the auction house behind the latest sale, has refused to reveal who bought the bike.

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Texas Hospital Apologises For Ebola Failings

The Dallas hospital at the heart of three US ebola cases has taken out a full-page newspaper advert to apologise for its failings.

Barclay Berdan, the CEO of Texas Health Presbyterian, said that "mistakes were made in handling a very difficult challenge" after two nurses contracted the deadly virus from Thomas Eric Duncan.

The 42-year-old, from Liberia, was the first person to be diagnosed with ebola outside West Africa.

Thomas Eric Duncan died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital. Pic: Facebook

But in an open letter, published in the Dallas Morning News, the hospital admitted it "did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of ebola – and for this, we are deeply sorry".

Mr Berdan added: "In short, despite our best intentions and skilled medical teams, we did not live up to the high standards that are the heart of our hospital's history, mission and commitment."

Video: Obama: I've Hugged Ebola Nurses

The executive used the advert to reject accusations that his hospital fell short of CDC guidelines on treating ebola, amid criticism over how two of its nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, contracted the disease from Mr Duncan.

"Many of the theories and allegations being presented in the media do not align with facts stated in the medical record and the accounts of caregivers present on the scene," Mr Berdan wrote.

Texas Presbyterian, which said it is "praying these US-based cases of ebola will also be the last", has seen its patient numbers plummet since becoming one of the first hospitals in the States to deal with ebola.

Some people in desperate need of emergency treatment have asked paramedics to take them to other hospitals further away, while hundreds of others have cancelled their appointments.

Video: No UK Checks On African Passengers

"It feels like a ghost town. No one is even walking around the hospital," one worker told local television.

The plummeting confidence among prospective patients in Dallas came as President Obama urged Americans not to "give in to hysteria or fear" over the ebola virus.

Elsewhere in Texas, a cruise ship carrying a quarantined Presbyterian worker has docked in Galveston after it was refused entry into some foreign harbours.

Described as a "floating petri dish" by one traveller, the Carnival Magic ship arrived on Sunday afternoon and a lab technician on-board was allowed to leave after showing no ebola symptoms.

Video: Ebola In UK - What Would You Do?

There were fears the medic may have come into contact with bodily fluids from Mr Duncan that had been submitted for tests.

Meanwhile, Rwandan's foreign minister has told Sky News it will take more than international money to beat the outbreak in Africa.

Louise Mushikiwabo said containment at source and "continued innovation" were vital to stop ebola spreading.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are worst hit by the disease but Nigeria's containment efforts have seen it avoid the outbreak.

Video: U.S. President Appeals For Calm

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Ebola: UN Agency Admits It Botched Outbreak

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has admitted that it botched attempts to halt the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The UN health agency has blamed factors including incompetent staff and a lack of information, according to a draft internal document obtained by The Associated Press.

"Nearly everyone involved in the outbreak response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall," the document says.

WHO admits it was "particularly alarming" that the head of its Guinea office refused to help get visas for an expert ebola team.

The organisation concedes it should have realised that traditional containment methods would not work in a region with porous borders and broken health systems.

Video: Questions Over Ebola Checks

Another factor was "politically motivated appointments" to WHO country offices in Africa.

Sky News Health and Science Correspondent Thomas Moore believes "simple infection control" would have stopped the virus spreading.

Here he takes a look at the mistakes that have contributed to a crisis that has killed at least 4,555 of the 9,216 people infected so far.

:: THE EPIDEMIC SMOULDERS

The epidemic started almost 10 months ago with the death in Guinea of a two-year-old boy called Emile.

For three months, the outbreak smouldered. Cases here and there, the virus spreading into neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The cases were in rural areas, far from medical help; the deaths undiagnosed and unrecorded.

But then, suddenly, it flared up. The Health Ministry in Guinea reported a mysterious illness with a high fatality rate.

By the time ebola had been identified as the cause, there were 86 cases and 59 deaths in four districts of Guinea.

Video: Ebola Victims' Families Shunned

:: THE FIRST MISTAKE

By the end of March it had come to the attention of the World Health Organisation.

A team of ebola experts from the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control reached the area.

Within weeks, cases dwindled and the medics moved on.

It was assumed it was just another rural outbreak, easily contained, just as the previous dozen or more outbreaks had been in Central Africa.

That was the first big mistake. The virus had already spread too far.

:: THE SECOND MISTAKE

Between the end of May and late July the virus reached the capitals of the three countries.

It was the first time that ebola cases had ever been reported in densely populated cities.

Video: Paying The Price For Ebola

Eradication now became far more challenging - it would be impossible to quarantine an entire capital.

Even though there were still only just over 1,000 cases, the seeds had been sown for an exponential rise in numbers.

Still, there was no international response.

:: THE THIRD MISTAKE

By now it was clear the health services in the three countries could not cope.

Years of civil war had left the countries on their knees.

Liberia had just 120 doctors to care for four million people.

There simply weren't enough doctors to quarantine infected patients and chase down their contacts.

But still it was only charities and missionary groups that were sending in medical teams and organising clinics.

Video: Spotting Ebola At Beijing Airport

:: THE FOURTH MISTAKE

All three countries were too slow to tackle risky cultural practices, the suspicion of health workers and the stigma of the disease.

Relatives washed the dead with their bare hands, putting themselves at risk.

Bodies were hidden by relatives for fear of being ostracised by the community.

And villagers chased away medical teams, believing they were spreading the virus.

Yet it was only in August that Sierra Leone's government began an awareness campaign to change attitudes.

:: THE FIFTH MISTAKE

It wasn't until September that world leaders really understood how serious the epidemic had become.

A cynic might say it was the repatriation of western health workers - and then the arrival of infected travellers - that was the game-changer.

Video: How Ebola Attacks The Human Body

The US has begun building 1,700 beds in Liberia, the UK is building 700 in Sierra Leone and France is co-ordinating efforts in Guinea.

But it's nowhere near enough. The WHO still has only a fraction of the resources it needs.

And, with every week of delay, the virus spreads further. Cases are doubling every month.

That means more beds, more medics and more money will be needed.

It's no wonder the WHO says the ebola epidemic has been a wake-up call for the world.

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Cameron Presses EU Leaders On Ebola Fund

David Cameron has called for European Union leaders to double their contribution to help tackle ebola, demanding a combined 1bn euro (£800m) pledge.

The Prime Minister has written to the other 26 leaders and European Council president Herman van Rompuy calling for agreement to an "ambitious package of support" at a Brussels summit next week.

He made clear his frustration that other countries are failing to shoulder their share of the burden of international efforts to deal with the epidemic in West Africa which has killed more than 4,500.

Britain has committed £125m to its contribution - the second highest sum after the US. Downing Street said the total contribution from the EU is 500m euros (£400m).

More money is needed to train at least 2,000 workers to go out to the affected regions, Mr Cameron suggested - appealing also for a "duty of care package" to be established for any that contracted ebola while working at a European-run or funded medical facility.

Video: Paying The Price For Ebola

In his letter, the Prime Minister said: "The rapid spread of the disease and recent cases outside the West African region demonstrate the magnitude of the task at hand.

"The World Health Organisation forecast 20,000 cases in West Africa by November 2014. I believe that much more must be done."

The demand comes after the head of the World Bank warned the battle against the ebola outbreak is being lost.

Speaking after the United Nations revealed it had received less than 40% of the nearly $1bn ($600m) it had requested to fight the deadly disease, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim blamed a lack of international solidarity for the failure to stop its spread.

Video: No UK Checks On African Passengers

"We are losing the battle," he told reporters in Paris.

"Certain countries are only worried about their own borders," he told reporters in Paris. 

Meanwhile, President Obama moved to reassure the American public over ebola by revealing he hugged nurses treating patients with the virus.

"The only way that a person can contract the disease is by coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of somebody who is already showing symptoms," he said.

Video: HMS Argus in More Detail

"I've met and hugged some of the doctors and nurses who've treated ebola patients. I've met with an ebola patient who recovered, right in the Oval Office. And I'm fine."

International anxieties over the spread of ebola were highlighted as a cruise ship carrying a lab technician who worked with samples taken from an infected nurse in Dallas was stopped from docking in Belize and Mexico

"It is the first time that this has happened, and it was decided the ship should not dock as a preventative measure against Ebola," Erce Barron, port authority director in Quintana Roo, said.

As part of European efforts to stop the spread, France will start screening air passengers for ebola today.

Video: Ebola Victims' Families Shunned

Air France flight attendants have also called for a halt to all flights from Guinea, one of the three hardest-hit countries.

The US, Britain and Canada have already launched screenings at airports for passengers from ebola-hit areas.

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Nigerian Schoolgirls Could Be Free Within Days

Nigeria hopes 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist group Boko Haram will be freed by Tuesday, according to a government source.

Authorities earlier said they had agreed a ceasefire with the militant group to make the release possible.

"I can confirm the Federal Government is working hard to meet its own part of the agreement so that the release of the abductees can by effected either on Monday or latest by Tuesday next week," the source said.

The girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok in April

But Bana Lawan, chairman of Chibok Local Government Area urged caution and said: "We don't know how true it is until we prove it. We will know the negotiations were successful when we see the girls physically.

"Then we will know it is true. And then we will celebrate."

Community leader Pogu Bitrus said: "People rejoiced, but with caution."

Both men said residents have been disappointed too many times in the past by reports of progress by Nigeria's government and military that later proved to be false.

And this caution seemed well-founded with suspected Boko Haram militants carrying out two deadly attacks on Nigerian villages after the announcement of the ceasefire.

On Friday, French President Francois Hollande had told a news conference in Paris that the girls' release "could happen in the coming hours and days".

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1. Gallery: Profile: Boko Haram Leader

   Abubakar Shekau is the leader of Boko Haram. He took control of the Islamist group after the death of founder Mohammed Yusuf in 2009.

2. Little is known about him, although he was born in Shekau village in the northeastern state of Yobe and is now thought to be in his early 40s.

3. Shekau is Nigeria's most-wanted man and was designated a terrorist by the U.S. government in 2012. A reward of $7m (£4.6m) and 50m Nigerian naira (£182,000) has been issued for information leading to his location.

4. Shekau is also known as "Darul Tawheed", a reference to his knowledge of an orthodox doctrine of Islam centred on the oneness of Allah.

5. Nigerian authorities thought he had been killed in 2009 during clashes with security forces, but he reappeared in a video in 2010 to claim leadership of Boko Haram.

6. Shekau is believed to have been behind the August 2011 bombing of the UN compound in the capital Abuja, which killed at least 21 people.

7. In a video released after the abduction of 276 girls from a boarding school in the village of Chibok on April 14, he described the youngsters as "slaves" and threatened to "sell them in the market".

France had been involved in negotiations that led to the release of several of its citizens kidnapped by Boko Haram in Cameroon.

Boko Haram (their name means 'education is sinful') kidnapped the 276 girls at gunpoint from a school in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria, on April 14.

Some of the girls managed to escape in the aftermath of their kidnap or during fighting among militants, but 219 are still unaccounted for.

The group has demanded the release of detained extremists in exchange for the girls.

Video: Nigeria 'Optimistic' Over Girls

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said Boko Haram had "assured Nigerian authorities that the Chibok schoolgirls are well and safe".

The country's leader, Goodluck Jonathan, has faced strong criticism over a deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, with areas in the northeast Borno state inaccessible due to the threat from Boko Haram.

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Siding Spring Comet To Skim Mars At 120,000mph

A comet the size of a small mountain will skim past Mars later, but NASA hopes its spacecraft will be able to photograph the once-in-a-million-years encounter.

The comet, known as Siding Spring (C/2013 A1), is set to hurtle past Mars at a distance of about 88,000 miles (141,600 km) - less than half the distance between Earth and our moon.

The closest pass is expected to happen Sunday at 7.27pm (6.27pm GMT).

Astronomers do not expect it will come any where near colliding with Mars, but they do hope it will be close enough to reveal clues about the origins of the solar system.

This NASA graphic shows the comet's expected tragectory

The comet is believed to have originated billions of years ago in the Oort Cloud, a distant region of space at the outskirts of the solar system.

Dan Brown from Nottingham Trent University told AFP: "Comets such as C/2013 A1 are essentially dirty, icy snowballs with rocks and dust embedded in frozen gasses.

Video: NASA Experts Detail Plan For Comet

"It is on its first run towards the centre of our solar system and its material is virtually unchanged by the rays of the sun and can give us an insight to the material composition of our early solar system 4.6 billion years ago."

The comet - which is around a mile wide - is flying through space at a speed of around 122,400mph.

NASA has manoeuvered its Mars orbiters to the far side of the planet so they won't be damaged by the comet's high-speed debris.

Even as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN have been repositioned to avoid hazardous dust, scientists hope they will be able to capture a trove of data about the flyby.

NASA's two rovers - Curiosity and Opportunity - will turn their cameras skyward and send back pictures of the comet's pass in the coming days, weeks and months, the US space agency said.

StarDate editor Rebecca Johnson said: "The orbiters will keep a close eye on the show.

"They'll study the comet itself, which is a small chunk of ice and rock. They'll also study the cloud of gas and dust around the comet, as well as its long tail," she said.

"And they'll measure how the gas and dust interact with the Martian atmosphere."

The comet has travelled more than one million years to make its first pass by Mars, and will not return for another million years, after it completes its next long loop around the sun.

It was discovered at Australia's Siding Spring Observatory in January 2013.

Its close encounter with Mars is not likely to be visible to sky watchers on Earth.

But the near miss is of great interest to scientists, particularly since there are so many spacecraft on and around Mars to record it.

"As it zips toward the sun, it gives scientists a chance to see a relic from the distant past - a snowball that preserves the same ingredients that gave birth to our own world," said Johnson.

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Anni Dewani's Honeymoon Hitman Dies In Jail

One of the men convicted of killing newlywed Anni Dewani has died in prison of a brain tumour before he was due to testify at her husband's trial.

Xolile Mngeni, who was branded "merciless and evil" by a judge during his sentencing, was jailed for life for shooting Mrs Dewani while she was on honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010.

He was due to give evidence in the trial of Shrien Dewani, the British businessman accusing of conspiring to kill his wife.

Mngeni had been diagnosed with a rare brain tumour while awaiting trial four years ago and had surgery to remove it.

A judge said Mngeni 'brutally killed' Mrs Dewani 'with utter disdain'

The court had heard he would probably have only two to five years to live if the tumour returned.

Mngeni's death comes 12 days after Mr Dewani went on trial in South Africa.

Video: Gunman 'Paid £1000 For Dewani Kill'

The 34-year-old denies plotting to kill Mrs Dewani on their luxury getaway to Cape Town in November 2010, as they took a taxi ride through a township.

The care home owner, from Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol, is accused of paying three men to kill his Swedish-born wife, days after their lavish £200,000 wedding in Mumbai.

Dewani said he and his wife were kidnapped at gunpoint as they drove through Gugulethu in Cape Town in a taxi.

He was released unharmed, but Mrs Dewani's body was found in the abandoned car the next day. She had been shot.

Video: 'All I Ask For Is The Full Story'

He denies the five charges against him, which include murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Mngeni was convicted of shooting Mrs Dewani, while taxi driver Zola Tongo and Mziwamadoda Qwabe are also serving jail terms in connection with the murder.

Reports suggest prosecutors in South Africa had spoken to Mngeni but had not planned to call him as a witness in the trial because of the poor state of his health.

Mngeni was found guilty at the Western Cape High Court in 2012 of premeditated murder.

Video: Anni Dewani's Bedroom Now A Shrine

He was also convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, but acquitted of Mrs Dewani's kidnapping.

During sentencing, Judge Robert Henney said Mngeni deserved the maximum punishment for killing Mrs Dewani.

He said: "He had no regard to her right to freedom, dignity, and totally disregarded and showed no respect to her right to life by brutally killing her with utter disdain."

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Hong Kong Protests: 20 Hurt In Street Battles

At least 20 people have been injured in a second night of clashes between Hong Kong riot police and pro-democracy campaigners.

Some demonstrators were carried away on stretchers after baton-wielding officers moved into a crowd in the Mong Kok district.

Police claimed they used "minimum force" as protesters "suddenly attempted to charge" their cordon lines.

Riot police advance towards protesters in Mong Kok

However, activists say they were repeatedly hit with batons and did nothing to provoke the violence, as a senior politician said weeks of rallies had reached a "critical moment".

One protester, called Jackie, who was sitting with his head bandaged, said: "They hit us without any reason when we were standing behind the roadblock.

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Clashes As Protesters Retake Streets

   Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong won back parts of a key protest zone in the early hours of Saturday. Dozens of people, including police, were injured in the scuffles

2. Barricades were knocked over as several thousand activists faced off against officers. At least 33 people were reportedly arrested

3. Police used pepper spray and batons to control the crowd, including on this man - reported to be a journalist

4. The man is doused in water to wash away the chemical

5. Many protesters wore masks and carried umbrellas, which have become a symbol of the protests and also a makeshift barrier against pepper spray

6. The activists, most of them young people, are protesting against China's plan to restrict elections for Hong Kong's leader to approved Communist loyalists

7. The demonstrations began several weeks ago and have been described as the biggest challenge to China's authority since Tiananmen Square

8. Police carry a banner warning protesters to stay calm. Continue through for more pictures

"I was hit by a police stick four or five times. I protected myself with my hands and they hit my body.

"Some people behind me opened out their umbrellas and then the police started hitting people. There was no aggressive action on our side."

Demonstrators first took to the streets on 26 September after China announced it would screen candidates running in Hong Kong's elections in 2017.

Talks aimed at stopping the violence are to take place between the Hong Kong government and student leaders on Tuesday.

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1. Gallery: Police Break Up Hong Kong Protests

   A policeman runs towards protesters who were attempting to regroup after being forcibly cleared from the the area they were occupying in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong

2. Police advance as they try to disperse the crowd after removing barricades

3. Scores of Hong Kong police removed barricades early on Friday erected by pro-democracy protesters around the bustling area of Mong Kok, across the harbour from the main demonstration area next to government offices

4. Pro-democracy protesters confront police after they were forcibly cleared from the area they were occupying in the Mong Kok district

5. The raid came while many protesters were asleep in their tents or on the street. Continue through for more images

The city's deputy leader Carrie Lam said the talks would be focused on constitutional reform, with both sides allowed to bring five members to the meeting.

But Beijing is unlikely to yield to protesters' core demands - the resignation of Hong Kong's leader CY Leung and free leadership elections for the territory in 2017.

The city's finance secretary, John Tsang, urged demonstrators to retreat.

"I was young before and I have taken part in various student movements," he wrote on his blog on Sunday.

Video: Tiananmen Square Anniversary

"Retreating is not an easy decision. It takes a lot of bravery. I still believe that you can take the courage to make right decisions at this critical moment."

The UK handed back Hong Kong to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal that guarantees freedoms not seen on the mainland.

But fears are growing that liberties are being eroded, and the rallies are one of the biggest challenges to Beijing's rule since the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, when several hundred civilians were shot dead by the Chinese army.

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Hopes Fade For Survivors Of Nepalese Snowstorm

The search for survivors after a deadly blizzard in Nepal appears to be coming to an end, with rescuers now trying to recover the bodies of trekkers left trapped under layers of snow and ice.

A further 34 people who were stranded in the Himalayas have been rescued, according to local police, but their condition has not been disclosed.

Helicopters are revisiting badly-affected areas where bodies have been seen in another attempt to retrieve them.

The number killed in the snowstorm stands at 39, but is expected to rise.

Rescue teams have encountered great difficulty in accessing bodies

A spokesman from the Trekking Agencies' Association said: "A team of experts dug through snow to recover bodies of two Indians in the Nar-Phu area. Ten bodies are [still] believed to be buried in that area."

Since Wednesday, 483 guides and trekkers have been rescued – 292 of them foreign nationals, according to the AFP news agency.

Video: Avalanche Rescue Efforts

Some survivors are believed to be suffering from severe cases of frostbite, making limb amputations likely, say Nepalese officials.

Of the 34 rescued on Sunday, 17 people were Nepalese, 10 were German, five were Australian and two were Swedish.

They may have been a group attempting the same route as victims who perished in the snowstorm.

Video: Friday: Rescuers Reach Trekkers

As a result the route has been closed by the government until further notice.

The incident is the worst mountain disaster in Nepal since 1995 when 42 people were killed in avalanches on Mount Everest.

The Foreign Office has said it is not aware of any British casualties but is working with authorities to account for every Briton thought to be in the area when the storm hit.

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