Nearly a week after an earthquake devastated Nepal, the country’s European Union ambassador has confirmed that 12 E.U. citizens were killed and said 1,000 people from the E.U. are still missing.
Speaking on Friday, Ambassador Rensje Teerink told Reuters: “We don’t know where they are, or (where) they could be.”
He said most of the Europeans were tourists in the Langtang and Lukla areas of Nepal. Langtang, a region north of the Kathmandu Valley, is a popular destination for trekkers and has suffered from dangerous mudslides and an avalanche. Lukla, a town in the north-east, sits at the base of Mount Everest and is now an important base for the rescue effort after the April 25 quake killed at least 18 climbers.
The death toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake is now over 6,200 and thousands more remain unaccounted for.
Witness the Aftermath of Nepal's Devastating Earthquake
A Nepalese boy stands amid earthquake damage in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015, three days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake had hit the country. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Nepalese man carries recovered belongings through the streets of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April. 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEPeople stand on top of a damaged building in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The historic Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake.Adam Ferguson for TIMEA group of Hindu Nepalese women mourn the loss of four family members who were killed in the earthquake at the site of funeral pyres on the river of Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA crowd watches Indian forces excavating collapsed apartments, looking for bodies and survivors in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The building, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese people flee buildings during an aftershock in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEIndian and Nepalese forces attempt to identify a body after it was recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Hindu Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April. 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces clear fallen bamboo from ruins in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese children walk through the street in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEWorkers repair power lines in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEIndian and Nepalese forces excavate a body from collapsed apartments in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese people retrieve belongings from damaged homes in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese women mourn relatives lost in the earthquake in Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEPeople walk through the damaged streets in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA displaced Nepalese family takes shelter in a tent in a Kathmandu park, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA mother looks at her son who was injured in the earthquake, at the Nepal and India Trauma Center in Kathmandu, April 29, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIMEEmergency rescue workers clear debris and search for survivors in Katmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA body recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME
