Ecuador mobilized a massive rescue effort after a group of climbers fell 180 feet on one of the country’s highest volcanoes.
The government said three climbers have died, and another 12 were injured while climbing an Ecuadorian volcano on Saturday.
The climbers experienced a 60m fall (about 180 feet) while on Carihuairazo (16,643 feet) at around 9:30 a.m. on August 13, according to a news release from ECU911.
Officials at ECU911, the country’s emergency service, located the group’s GPS device and organized a rescue of the climbers. The rescue involved multiple organizations, including high mountain teams from nearby cities.
It was a “black day” for mountaineering, the Ecuador Association of Mountain Guides wrote on Facebook. A rope slipped and fell as the group of climbers descended from the summit, causing several of them to fall, the group said.
“The seven injured climbers were rescued by a group of mountaineers who were at the site and stayed with them until rescue teams arrived,” the group said (translated from Spanish).
Three mountaineers died and 12 were injured after they fell while climbing Ecuador’s Carihuairazo volcano, rescue services said Saturday. https://t.co/8wTAENAmfZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 15, 2022