Dead bodies of three Nepali and three French mountaineers, who had gone missing in an avalanche on Mt Kanguru nearly eight months ago, have been found.

French ambassador to Nepal, Michel Jolivet, informed Nepalnews that the bodies of six climbers that were recovered during a search have been brought to Kathmandu and forensic test is being conducted on them.

The process to hand over the bodies to the victims’ families is underway, according to him.

Altogether 18 mountaineers – 11 Nepalis and seven French – had died in a heavy avalanche while climbing the 6,981-metre Mt Kanguru on October 20, 2005.

The bodies were found by a search mission of the Embassy on Friday.