Reuters —
Five Bosnian climbers died after being caught in a severe storm on Russia’s Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest mountain, but the bodies of the three have not yet been evacuated due to bad weather, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Sunday, citing Russian authorities.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said rescue teams evacuated the bodies of two climbers from the 5,350-meter (17,552-foot) mountain after first evacuating two other climbers who had been evacuated from the mountain and receiving treatment.
The regional branch of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced that rescue teams had recovered the bodies of three more climbers, but they had not yet been evacuated due to bad weather, RIA Novosti reported.
Russian authorities have not disclosed his nationality, but a regional law enforcement agency told RIA Novosti that the climber who died on Elbrus was from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At 5,642 meters (18,511 feet) just north of the Georgia border, Mount Elbrus is notorious for sudden changes in weather and climbing conditions.
According to Bosnian media, seven of the climbers were residents of the central city of Zenica, including a married couple and a female doctor working at a local hospital.
Russian media reported that search and recovery efforts were complicated by bad weather, including strong winds.
