Four foreign climbers found dead near the peak of mont blanc

THE KOREAN AND ITALIAN MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS WENT MISSING THIS WEEKEND. LOCAL MAYOR SAID LANGUAGE ISSUES MAY HAVE INFLUENCED THEIR CHOICE NOT TO TAKE A GUIDE The bodies of four mountain climbers

who went missing on Saturday (September 7) near the peak of Mont Blanc have been recovered. The climbers – two Italians, and two Koreans – died of exhaustion, said the Haute-Savoie

prefecture. Poor weather from Saturday’s storms trapped them at a height of 4,000 metres on the mountain, and they were unable to descend. The mayor of the local area confirmed that the men

chose not to take a guide with them after being given the option to do so. He said a language barrier during the presentation of the information about the guide may have affected their

choice. It is the latest in a string of deaths on the mountain in recent months.  Read more: One death and four injured in avalanche at Mont Blanc SIX PEOPLE TRAPPED ON MOUNTAIN PEAK Three

different parties of roped climbers went missing on Saturday afternoon near the peak of the mountain. One of these groups, consisting of two Koreans, was rescued on Sunday, but the remaining

four could not be found.  Various search operations took place, including on Tuesday, however poor weather repeatedly prevented planes from being able to scour the area. A combined effort

from a new search plane launched from Annecy, and a group of Italian rescuers on foot found the two Koreans, quickly followed by the Italians in the immediate vicinity, on Tuesday afternoon,

said the prefecture. They were found around 100m - 200m from the summit of the mountain. Temperatures may have reached as cold as -40C during the peak of the bad weather, with rain, snow,

and bitter winds swirling around the mountain peak. GUIDES ARE NOT COMPULSORY TO CLIMB MOUNTAIN PEAK Using a guide when climbing Mont Blanc is “always recommended… but not compulsory,” said

Eric Fournier, mayor of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc to FranceInfo.  “It's perfectly possible for experienced mountaineers to take on this climb, but the prerequisite is the quality of the

information you get at the outset, which enables you to [choose],” he added.  “There may also be a language barrier [when explaining information about the guide]. We need to re-examine and

pursue our work in this direction, on the quality of the information we can provide. It's the only way to avoid tragedies of this kind,” he said.  Read more: Mont Blanc tunnel to close

for three months