Rescuers have located and escorted to safety two hikers who ran into trouble in the dark on the snowy heights of Mount Olympus, the Fire Service said Monday.
The new incident on Greece’s highest mountain came days after a Spanish climber died trying to scale the summit in the snow.
A total eight Fire Service personnel were involved in the overnight search and rescue operation Sunday and Monday for the two women aged 21 and 24 who strayed off their path near Prionia above the village of Litochoro, from where a main track leads towards the mountain’s higher reaches.
While easily accessible much of the year and popular with inexperienced hikers and climbers, trekking or mountaineering on Olympus requires caution, planning and respect, and several fatalities have been recorded there in recent years.
On May 20, a 25-year-old Spanish man was reported missing high on the mountain after setting off for the Mytikas peak, Greece’s highest at 2,917 meters. His body was recovered a few days later.
