According to police, three climbers from the United States and Canada who went missing on New Zealand’s highest mountain five days ago are thought to be dead.
According to authorities, the two Americans and a Canadian climber never made their scheduled flight out Monday, despite their plans to use the Zurbriggen Ridge to reach the top of Aoraki.
Inspector Vicki Walker, the Aoraki Area Commander, said in a statement Friday afternoon local time that bad weather has hindered the search, which started the same day.
A jacket and an ice ax thought to be the men’s were discovered by searchers in a helicopter. According to her, footprints and other proof of the group’s intended route across the slopes beneath Zurbriggen Ridge have also been discovered.
Walker stated, “We do not believe the men have survived after reviewing the number of days the climbers have been missing, no communication, the items we have retrieved, and our reconnaissance today.” We think that they have fallen.
In the statement, Walker stated, “This is definitely not the news we wanted to share today.”
Kurt Blair, 56, of Colorado, Carlos Romero, 50, of California, and a Canadian who has not been named yet because his next of kin have not been notified, arrived aboard a plane Saturday, according to authorities.
On Monday, they were scheduled to depart at 8:30 a.m. According to Walker, they were reported overdue and a search was started after they failed to show up.
On the South Island of New Zealand, Aoraki, often known as Mount Cook, is a 12,218-foot peak that is a part of the Southern Alps.
If further information becomes available or there are sightings, such as from the climbing community, police will assess if a recovery operation is practical and the search may be resumed, Walker said.
“I would like to thank the teams who have given their all to this search,” Walker stated. “We all wanted this operation to be a success.”
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