Kathmandu , Nepal ( CNN ) -- Tens of thousands of international visitors come to Nepal each year to explore the spectacular Himalayan Mountains , providing poor communities with millions of dollars that they desperately need . The perils of that endeavor revealed themselves in stark fashion Tuesday , when at least 17 people from around the world died after being trapped in heavy snowfall while trekking at high altitude . A dozen of the deaths were in the popular Annapurna region , Nepal army spokesman Niranjan Shrestha said , while another five were in the neighboring Manang district . Officials say more people are missing and it is feared the toll could rise . This is already one of the deadliest such tragedies in the history of Nepal , a nation of about 26 million known worldwide for its spectacular mountain ranges , including Mount Everest . The deaths -- said to be the result of two days of unusually heavy snow caused by Cyclone Hud-hud in eastern India -- come only six months after tragedy last struck on the slopes of Mount Everest . Then , a bruising avalanche of ice swept 16 Sherpas to their deaths . After the accident , which came right before the peak season in May , many Sherpas refused to climb and at least six companies that lead Everest expeditions called off their 2014 climbs . While only the fittest sign up for a mountaineering feat like climbing Everest , trekking through the dramatic Himalayan landscape -- while challenging -- is accessible to many more . Last year , 102,000 foreigners came to Nepal to take part in trekking and mountaineering , the vast majority of them trekkers . The Annapurna region is the most popular trekking area in the country and attracts many visitors every fall , the better of the two seasons -- the other being spring -- to join organized multiday hikes . Conditions in the Himalayas can be cruel . But trekkers dying in snowstorms is almost unheard of . Bodies buried under snow . The loss of lives Tuesday will affect many nations , and could dent confidence in an industry vital to Nepal 's economic well-being . Of the 12 killed in the Annapurna region , only four bodies have so far been recovered , of two Poles , an Israeli and a Nepali . Eight more remain buried under the suffocating snow . Their nationalities are not known , said Shrestha , the army spokesman . It is unclear if any more are missing , he said . The trekkers died Tuesday evening near the iconic 5,416-meter ( 17,770-foot ) Thorung La Pass in Mustang district , the highest point of the 21-day Annapurna Circuit trek , he said . `` Those who stayed back in lodges because of poor weather survived , '' he said . Two army helicopters on Wednesday rescued 38 more trekkers who were trapped in the unseasonably heavy snowfall , Shrestha said . Baburam Adhikari , the top government official in Mustang district , said 244 trekkers crossed the Thorung La Pass and came to the village of Muktinath on Monday and Tuesday . But there is no information on how many began the trek from the other side of the pass in Phedi . `` We do not know how many are missing , but there is a possibility that there are people missing , '' he said . Those who died seem to have lost their way in the snow . A rescue team found a group of German tourists at midnight Tuesday , he said . Search operations will continue Thursday . About 50 kilometers ( 31 miles ) to the west , five people -- two Slovaks and three Nepalis -- are missing after an avalanche Tuesday night at the base of Mount Dhaulagiri , the world 's seventh-highest mountain , police and a local outfitter said . Injured trekkers rescued . Meanwhile , five more trekkers -- four Canadians and an Indian -- died in remote Manang district Tuesday , and their bodies were found Wednesday , Manang district police official Narayan Datta Chapagain told CNN via phone . A Nepal army helicopter rescued three injured Canadians and their Nepali guide from Manang , Chapagain said , adding that he did not know about the condition of the injured . The details of the deaths of the four Canadians and one Indian are unclear , according to Chapagain , but he said they were caused by heavy snow . Nepal 's government has said it aims to welcome some 2 million visitors annually by 2020 , with tourism central to a sustainable national economy . It usually rakes in about $ 3 million from Everest climbers during the May high season . But most of the nearly 500 who had planned the ascent in 2014 abandoned their climbs , with only one Chinese woman making it to the summit . Journalist Manesh Shrestha wrote and reported from Kathmandu and CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark from London .
NEW : Five people are missing after an avalanche near Mount Dhaulagiri , police say . 12 trekkers died in the popular Annapurna region , near the highest point of a 21-day trek . The victims include 2 Poles , an Israeli and a Nepali ; 8 more are buried under snow . Five more trekkers -- four Canadians and an Indian -- died in remote Manang district .