MADRID, Spain (AP) — Five Spanish mountain climbers have died in an avalanche in the Himalayas, officials said Friday.
They were part of a 10-man expedition trying to reach the summit of Mount Pumori, a 23,500-foot peak in Nepal.
The other five climbers were at a base camp when the avalanche occurred Tuesday and were not injured, said Alejo Uranga, a councilor in Azpeitia, the Basque hometown of one of the climbers.
Uranga said the expedition leader told him by telephone he had seen the five bodies at about 18,000 feet on Pumori.
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That spot is hard to reach, and the bodies will probably have to be left there, said expedition leader Benantzio Irureta.