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Mountaineers on the Elbrus (archive image)
Photo: Konstantin Dikovsky / AP / dpa
Five mountaineers were killed in a violent snow storm on Elbrus in the Russian North Caucasus.
As the disaster control ministry announced on Friday, they belonged to a group of 19 climbers who were surprised by the storm on Thursday at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters.
The other 14 people could be safely brought to the Asau valley at the foot of the mountain.
Difficult conditions in the rescue
The rescuers spoke of very difficult weather conditions.
The wind reached up to 70 kilometers per hour with an air temperature of minus 20 degrees.
Almost 70 rescue workers were in action in the wet snow.
According to the tour operator, four professional mountain guides accompanied the expedition.
During the ascent, one participant felt uncomfortable and turned around with one of the guides.
Later she died.
The rest of the group continued to climb to the summit.
During the descent, the climbers were surprised by a storm at an altitude of around 5000 meters.
Two of the climbers froze to death and two others passed out and died while being brought down into the valley.
Most were not professionals, reported the media.
The rescue operation dragged on for hours.
At 5642 meters, Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and is located in the North Caucasus.
The ascent is technically not particularly difficult, but every year people have accidents on the slopes of the mountain.
jso / AFP / dpa