British mountaineer among three people buried by avalanche in the Peruvian Andes
USI 5,947 metres (19,511 feet) high Alpamayo - dubbed the "most beautiful mountain in the world"
We have finished the rescue of the bodies of the mountain climbers who were buried by an avalanche Antonio Zea, the head of the regional high mountain police
Police confirmed they have recovered the bodies of the trio from the 5,947 metres (19,511 feet) high Alpamayo - dubbed the "most beautiful mountain in the world" - in north-western Peru's Ancash Region. Antonio Zea, the head of the regional high mountain police, confirmed: "We have finished the rescue of the bodies of the mountain climbers who were buried by an avalanche." Mr Zea said the incident happened on the most common climbing route, known as the Ferrari route, on the south-west face of the mountain. He said: ”They were climbing in the snow when the avalanche came, and they are dead.”
The only survivor was an Argentine citizen who is the boyfriend of the Slovenian climber and who has not yet been identified. Another mountain guide, Peter Alvarado, who was in the area with a group of German climbers, reported the avalanche to the Association of Mountain Guides in Peru in the nearby city of Huaraz who called the police. Autopsies will be carried out on the bodies of the dead climbers before they are returned to their relatives in their own countries. The funeral of Mr Quintana Figueroa, the guide, will be held in the city of Huaraz. The incident led Rafael Figueroa, the president of the Association of Mountain Guides in Peru, to call on Interior Minister Carlos Basombrío Iglesias to set up an airborne rescue unit so help could reach mountaineers more quickly.
USI The Huascaran National Park comprises most of the mountain range known as Cordillera Blanca