| Four French climbers have disappeared while trying to scale a 5,896-metre (19,338-feet) peak in Ganesh Himal range, news reports said.
The four men set off to scale the 5,896-metre (19,338-feet) high Paldor Peak on October 12, the AFP news agency said quoting the French embassy and sources close to the mountaineers. “We were supposed to meet them on November 5, so we were there and they didn’t show up,” said Stefania Paolik, a friend of the missing men. The men had taken five porters from the village of Syabrubesi to the peak’s base camp on October 13, the last time they were seen alive, she added. “They were very experienced climbers. One was already working as a mountain guide, the other was finishing his training and the other two were very experienced in mountains,” she said on Tuesday. Paolik said the men were from the mountain town of Grenoble in southeastern France, and were aged between 28 and 36. The French embassy in Kathmandu confirmed that four men were missing and said it was helping organise a search. |
“There has been a helicopter overflight but nothing was seen,” said Paolik. Another helicopter search of the area is planned for Wednesday, and a team of around 10 people will also try to retrace the route up the north face of the peak the men were attempting, a source close to the search said.