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Russian Diplomats Missing in Nepal Found Dead

Alexey Lipeev and Maria Yakovleva

Two Russian diplomats who went missing in Nepal following the massive earthquake that struck the country have been found dead, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday, according to Interfax.

Alexey Lipeev and Maria Yakovleva, both 25, had been hiking in the Langtang National Park on Nepal's border with China when the earthquake struck. Their bodies were found in the village of Langtang, which was in one of the areas most affected by the quake, according to a statement by Russia's Ambassador to Nepal Sergei Velichkin, reported Tass news agency.

Lipeev and Yakoleva were both employees of the Russian Embassy in Pakistan. They were married last year in Islamabad, according to a post on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Facebook page.

Thirty-six other Russians who had been missing in Nepal have now been accounted for, according to news site Sputnik.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people.

We mourn the tragic loss of our colleagues in the earthquake in Nepal Alexey Lipeev and Maria Yakovleva Министерство и...

Posted by МИД России on 8 Май 2015 г.

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