Three people have died after falling while climbing Alaska’s Mount McKinley, according to officials. A fourth climber has been rescued.
The four were part of a seven-person group that had traveled to the United States to ascend Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, according to information released by the Latvian Mountaineering Association.
The case was a grim reminder of how common injuries and accidents can be on the peak, which rises to 20,310ft (6,190 meters).
The climbers were injured after taking a fall at Denali Pass on Wednesday, the National Park Service said in a statement a day later.
Three of the climbers returned to camp after the accident. But weather conditions on the mountain did not immediately enable the service to respond by helicopter.
On Friday, the park service announced that it had rescued one climber on Thursday afternoon using “a long-line extraction” after “a high-altitude helicopter was unable to land” due to terrain and conditions at the site. The climber was transported to a base camp and then airlifted to a hospital.
In a brief statement, it added that “operations for the three remaining climbers have transitioned from a search and rescue mission to a recovery effort”.
The park service does not release details about fatalities until 72 hours after the next-of-kin have been notified. But the Latvian Mountaineering Association shared a tribute to their friends on its website.
“It is with the deepest sadness that we announce that three of our friends, talented and experienced climbers, have lost their lives on the icy slopes of this mountain: Inese Pučeka, Vija Olte, and Renārs Kunigs-Salaks,” the association said in a statement. “Mārtiņš Bilzēns was also injured in the accident and was evacuated in critical condition and transferred to the care of US medical personnel.”
The climbing season on Mount McKinley typically begins in late April and continues through mid-July. The National Park Service offers extensive guidelines for planning a summit as accidents remain common on the peak.