Three climbers die in accident in US mountains

During the climb of the steep rocks of the Early Winters Spire in the North Cascades mountains in the US state of Washington, three experienced climbers fell almost 200 ft (around 60 metres) to their deaths. A fourth climber miraculously survived the fall.

The accident occurred when an old metal anchor pin suddenly gave way while descending a steep ravine on the north side of the Early Winters Spire, a 2,400-metre-high peak popular with experienced climbers. This caused the climbers to plummet uncontrollably into the depths and onto sharp rocks.

One of the climbers, after regaining consciousness, managed to bring himself to safety and staggered back to his car under his own power. He eventually succeeded in alerting emergency services via a public telephone. Although he sustained a severe head injury and multiple internal bleedings, he survived. His climbing partners succumbed to the heavy fall.

The bodies of the three other climbers have since been recovered. Thanks to a GPS device in their equipment, rescue services were able to locate them.

(SR - Source: Sky News - Illustration: ©Unsplash)