Four climbers have died on Mont Blanc, the prefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in France reported Tuesday. Weather conditions made it difficult for rescuers to reach the summit.
Two Koreans and two Italians went missing on Saturday, but it was not until Tuesday that rescue services found the climbers' bodies. The men died of exhaustion, according to regional authorities. Rescue services found them on the northern face of the massif, at an altitude of 4,600 meters. Rescuers, who had trouble reaching the Mont Blanc summit area due to difficult weather conditions, first found the bodies of the Koreans and then, in close proximity, those of the Italians.
The prefecture noted that the climbers were moving without a guide.
It is yet another tragedy among many that have occurred on Mont Blanc this summer. In late June, a 30-year-old from Poland died near the Gouter Ridge, at an altitude of 3,500 metres. Mont Blanc, known as the “Roof of Europe”, is 4,807 metres high, and its routes, particularly the one on the Gouter Ridge, are considered exceptionally difficult and dangerous.
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