Around 250 people are feared missing after an avalanche Tuesday hit an area of Nepal that is on a popular trekking route and near the epicentre of a devastating earthquake, a local official said.

"An avalanche occurred in the afternoon today in Ghodatabela, an area on the popular Langtang trekking route," said chief district officer Uddav Prasad Bhattarai.

"It is difficult to say how many are missing, but a preliminary guess is that about 250 might be missing."