The body of a victim is moved from an ambulance to the morgue after it was brought back from Annapurna Region in Kathmandu
The body of a victim is moved from an ambulance to the morgue after it was brought back from Annapurna Region in Kathmandu October 17, 2014. Trekkers battling a Himalayan blizzard were left helpless after porters fainted from the cold, a survivor of one of Nepal's worst mountain disasters said on Friday, as rescue teams resumed a hunt for 10 missing hikers and the death toll reached 29. The dead included trekkers from Canada, India, Israel and Poland, as well as Nepali guides and herders, drawn by the peak hiking season only to fall victim to unexpected avalanches and blizzards brought by a cyclone in India. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

The Sydney father and daughter, who had been suspected to have been killed in the Himalayas, phoned home and informed their family that they are safe. The phone call was made at around 11 pm on Wednesday.

Simon Wilde and his daughter Sophie were believed to have been the victims of the deadly blizzard on the Annapurna Circuit that had injured 175 and killed at least 43 trekkers on Oct 14. The blizzard, which hit the Thorong La pass, turned out to be heart-breaking for the Australian family as it did not hear from Simon and his 17-year-old daughter for nine days. However, a brief phone call on Oct 22 changed the scenario for the family. Simon informed his family that he, along with his daughter, was safe. Simon's daughter is a Performing Arts student at Newtown High School. Simon said that they were on their way to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. He also said that his family should expect them to come home within a few days, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The recent disaster at the Himalayas is considered to be the worst since 1995 when avalanches in the Mount Everest region, ABC News reported. Simon's family last heard from him on Oct 6. "Late last night our time, he [Simon] rang. He and Sophie are both OK and they'll be back in Kathmandu and flying home to Australia on Saturday," his family said as it called it a great relief to know that they were safe. The father and the daughter are expected to return home on Oct 29. However, the natural disaster made the family concerned for their safety. Simon earlier emailed his family that they would be moving to a less-travelled area called Dolpha, bordering the Annapurna circuit.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said a few Australians were among the people who had been rescued. Even though there were more than 40 trekkers were reported to have been killed in the natural disaster, no Australian was found to be among the victims. The Australian embassy in Kathmandu was constantly in touch with trek organisers and Nepalese authorities. More than 500 people have already been rescued and moved to safer locations.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au