No more hope for climbers after disappearance on New Zealand's highest mountain
Three mountaineers from Canada and the United States have been missing for five days on the flanks of Mount Aoraki, New Zealand's highest mountain. Authorities meanwhile suspect they fell and died.
An ice axe, a jacket and footprints in the snow were recovered at the spot where the trio were supposed to cross some slopes.
The two Americans and a Canadian climber had planned to climb the Aoraki via the ‘Zurbriggen Ridge’, but they did not make their flight on Monday as planned, police said. A massive search operation was organised immediately on the first day of their disappearance, but inclement weather conditions hampered that search.
‘After looking at the number of days the climbers have been missing, no communication, the items we recovered and our reconnaissance today, we do not believe the men survived,’ Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said Friday. ‘We believe they have fallen.’
(SR for Tagtik/Source: NBC/Illustration picture: Image by Makalu from Pixabay)