Nepal quake
Nepalese soldiers unload emergency aid supplies as part of earthquake relief efforts in Dhunche, Nepal, May 4, 2015. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

(Reuters) - Nepali police and local volunteers found the bodies of about 100 trekkers and villagers buried in an avalanche set off by last month's devastating earthquake and were digging through snow and ice for signs of dozens more missing, officials said on Monday.

The government began asking foreign teams to wrap up search and rescue operations, as hope of finding people alive in the rubble receded.

"They can leave. If they are also specialists in clearing the rubble, they can stay," Rameshwor Dangal, an official at Nepal's home ministry, told Reuters on Monday.

The trekkers' bodies were recovered on Saturday and Sunday at the Langtang village, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kathmandu, which is on a trekking route popular with Westerners. The entire village, which includes 55 guesthouses for trekkers, was wiped out by the avalanche, officials said.