Foreign climbers die in Andes

At least eight foreign climbers who went missing in the Peruvian Andes on Monday have been found dead.

Officials said the climbers, from Europe, Israel and Argentina, were swept to their deaths by an avalanche.

The accident happened as they were approaching the summit of the 5,800 metre (19,000 feet) Alpamayo mountain, located about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north-east of the capital, Lima.

The bodies of four Germans, two Israelis, a Dutchman and an Argentine were found in and around a crevasse, the French news agency quoted a mountain guide as saying.

Rescue efforts had been hampered by bad weather.

Officials had earlier said there were as many as 18 people missing.

Criticism

A Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reported that the alarm was raised by a guide and support team accompanying another group of climbers in the area.

A search and rescue team equipped with a satellite telephone was sent to the area.

They had to first fly by helicopter to a base camp at Cashipampa before walking 14 hours to the avalanche site.

A change in climate is believed to have caused the accident.

Police have also criticised climbers who go climbing without telling a guide or the mountain rescue unit.

The snow-capped Alpamayo was declared the world's most beautiful mountain by Unesco in 1966. It was climbed for the first time in 1957.