11 September 2024 , 08:26
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Four climbers who disappeared in a storm on Mont Blanc in France have been found dead.
Their bodies were discovered close to summit of the Alps’ highest peak – at an altitude of at least 15,400 feet – after they disappeared over the weekend in bad weather.
The Chamonix-Mont Blanc search and rescue team found the four mountaineers – identified as two Italians and two South Koreans – on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescue officials confirmed they all died of hypothermia after temperatures at the peak reached -22°C.
The unaccompanied climbers had alerted rescuers on Saturday afternoon, but the weather conditions continued to deteriorate.
Rescuers attempted to climb to the summit on foot on Sunday, but were forced to give up. Teams also could not reach their location by helicopter.
Two other Korean climbers were successfully rescued on Sunday at an altitude of more than 13,400 feet after rescuers deployed a highly complex operation.
French authorities have opened an investigation into the incident.
An average of 20,000 mountaineers summit the 15,780ft high Mont Blanc each year, making it one of the most popular mountains in Europe.
This makes it also the most fatal mountain in the world, claiming around 100 lives per year.