Kathmandu, Oct 18 (IANS): At least 39 climbers died while hiking on a key Nepali route after it was hit by major snowstorms and avalanches earlier this week, BBC reported Saturday citing officials.

Nepalese, Indian, Israeli, Canadian, Slovak and Polish trekkers are among the dead.

In the light of fears that more bodies lie beneath the snow, helicopters are helping rescuers in the Himalayas look for missing trekkers.

A total of 289 people have been rescued from the mountain ranges in what is Nepal's worst-ever trekking disaster.

A government spokesperson said the priority was to rescue stranded people.

Helicopters were scouring snowy areas as high as 5,790m (19,000ft), a tourism ministry official said.

The authorities' task is made more complicated because there are thousands of climbers in Nepal at this time of the year.

Rescuers have only limited resources and most of the missing and dead are believed to be at the maximum heights that helicopters can reach.