Spanish military rescue personnel return from Nepal, bodies still missing

A Spanish rescue team who travelled to Nepal to try and find seven Spanish mountaineers missing in the Langtang valley in wake of the earthquake arrived back in Spain in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The team included 47 members of the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) and 12 mountain rescue specialists from the Civil Guard.

Although their mission ultimately failed as they were not able to find any trace of the missing climbers, Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said they had "done everything that was humanly possible," to find them.

The body of one Spaniard, Roser Palau -- a 37 year--old Catalan, who was trekking in the region -- was found last week and flown back to Spain, but she is likely to be the last person whose whereabouts is known.

"We do not think there is any chance of finding any Spaniards left alive ... there was no sense in the Civil Guard and UME remaining. They have fulfilled their mission and returned safe and sound," said Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, who praised the rescue workers for the job they had done.

Meanwhile, Fernandez Diaz confirmed that a team of scientific police had remained in Nepal to help with the "identification of any bodies or remains which could appear."

He confirmed that of the 557 Spaniards known to be in Nepal when the earthquake struck on April 25, 549 have been found. Eight are thought to have died. Endit