Three climbers have been killed while trying to scale the 8,167-metre Dhaulagiri peak in Nepal on the eve of diamond jubilee celebrations marking the first human ascent on Mount Everest.
Two climbers, a Japanese woman Chizuko Kono, 67, and a Spaniard Juanjo Garra, 50 and their Nepalese mountain guide Dawa Sherpa had been missing since May 24 when they apparently were trapped in snow at 8,000 metres near the fourth camp of the peak, and were today confirmed dead by organisers.
"There is no chance of their survival, though we have not received the bodies," said Tikaram Gurung, organiser of the expedition.
Garra had reportedly broken his ankle after he slipped while Kono and the guide died when they fell off the mountain.
It has been a deadly climbing season in the Himalayas this year with the latest deaths taking the toll to 16.
Dhaulagiri is known to be one of the most difficult mountains to climb and has a high casualty rate for climbers.
The deaths of the climbers this season has overshadowed tomorrow's celebrations marking 60 years since the first ascent on the world's highest peak by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
World famous climbers are assembling in Kathmandu to mark the occasion with other planned events including a high-altitude marathon and a clean-up campaign at the Everest base camp.
