Helicopters scoured the icy Himalayan peaks in western Nepal looking for four foreign climbers still missing in a deadly avalanche on the 8,156 metre Mount Manaslu which left 12 mountaineers dead, including eight Frenchmen.   

The helicopters were pressed into service as a number offoreign expeditions attempting the peak were trapped byfalling walls of snow near the base camp in Gorkha district, 350 km west of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.   

Twelve climbers including eight French nationals and a Sherpa guide were killed in the avalanche, said Jimba JangbuSherpa, President of Nepal Mountaineering Association. Others who were killed include one Italian, one German and one Spanish climber, according to Sherpa.