The search for three missing climbers in Peru faces major logistical challenges because the country does not have helicopters capable of landing above 19,700 feet, requiring specialized high-altitude rescue teams to conduct the operation entirely on foot. Photo by Daiji Umemoto/Pexels
July 16 (UPI) -- Extreme weather and a shortage of specialized high-altitude rescue personnel are hampering the search for three Peruvian climbers who remain missing after an expedition on Mount Huascarán, Peru's highest peak, in the Áncash region.
According to Peru's Regional Emergency Operations Center, search efforts are focused at elevations between about 19,700 and 21,650 feet above sea level on Huascarán's eastern face toward Mount Chopicalqui, the third-highest peak in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range.
Beto Pinto, president of the Peruvian Mountain Guides Association, told Perú21 that climbers Alejandro Ugarte, Saúl Mendoza and Artidoro Salas Gaytán are believed to be at an altitude of about 21,000 feet, based on the last coordinates automatically transmitted by the GPS watch worn by Ugarte before the signal was lost.
Pinto said the group's last communication came Tuesday, when they sent a WhatsApp message reporting they had become lost during a severe storm.
