Three climbers who went missing on New Zealand’s highest mountain are believed to be dead
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Three mountain climbers – two from the US and one from Canada – who were missing for five days on Aoraki, New Zealand’s highest peak, are believed to have died in a fall, authorities said on Friday.
The men’s bodies were not found. But based on footprints spotted in the snow during an aerial search, and items believed to belong to them recovered from the slopes this week, the search for them has ended, Police Commander Inspector Vicki Walker told reporters.
The Americans – Kurt Blair, 56, from Colorado and Carlos Romero, 50, from California – were certified mountain guides, according to the website of the nonprofit American Mountain Guides Association. New Zealand authorities have not named the Canadian climber at the request of his family.
The men flew to a hut halfway up the mountain on Saturday to begin their climb and were reported missing on Monday when they did not arrive after the climb to pick up their agreed transport. Searchers hours later found several climbing-related items believed to belong to the men, but there was no trace of them, police said.
A search was stalled for three days due to harsh weather conditions in the area. On Friday, drone operators spotted footprints in the snow and more objects that authorities believe belonged to the men.
“After considering the number of days the climbers have been missing, no communications, the items we recovered and our explorations today, we do not believe the men survived,” Walker said. “We think they fell.”
The search would resume if more evidence came to light, but the men’s deaths have been referred to a coroner, Walker added.
Two Americans and a Canadian are missing and presumed dead after disappearing from New Zealand’s Mount Cook summit on Saturday morning (victim Kurt Blair is pictured)
Mount Cook, also known as Aoraki, is the highest mountain in New Zealand. The three men were reported missing on Monday after missing their return transport
Aoraki is 3,724 meters high and is part of the Southern Alps, the scenic and icy mountain range that stretches the length of New Zealand’s South Island. A settlement of the same name at the base is a destination for domestic and foreign tourists.
The summit is popular among experienced climbers. The terrain is technically difficult due to gorges, avalanche danger, changeable weather and glacier movements.
Since the early 20th century, more than 240 deaths have been recorded on the mountain and in the surrounding national park.