SARAJEVO, July 26 (Reuters) – Five Bosnian climbers died on Russia’s Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, after being caught in a violent storm, but the bodies of three people have not yet been evacuated due to bad weather, RIA Novosti reported on Sunday citing Russian authorities.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has said rescuers evacuated the bodies of two dead climbers who were located on the mountain at an altitude of 5,350 metres (17,550 feet), after first saving two other climbers who were evacuated from the mountain and taken for medical care.
The regional branch of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said rescuers had recovered the bodies of three more deceased climbers but that they have not yet been evacuated due to bad weather, RIA Novosti reported.
Though the Russian authorities did not specify their nationality, the regional law enforcement agencies told RIA Novosti the climbers who died on Elbrus came from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mount Elbrus, which rises to 5,642 metres just north of the border with Georgia, is infamous for sudden changes in weather and climbing conditions.
Bosnian media reported the seven members of the climbing expedition were residents of the central town of Zenica and included a married couple and a female doctor who worked at the local hospital.
Russian media reported that adverse weather conditions including strong winds had complicated the search and recovery operations.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic and Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Editing by Helen Popper and Chris Reese)
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