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Two climbers have died while climbing New Zealand's Aoraki Mt Cook mountain
One of the climbers reportedly slid over a ridge, pulling the second climber, who was attached by a rope
Aoraki Mt Cook is regarded as New Zealand's deadliest mountain, with 62 people having vanished on its faces over the years
Two climbers have died and two others have been rescued on New Zealand's Aoraki Mt Cook mountain.
On Tuesday, Nov. 25, the New Zealand Police confirmed in areleasethat they were working to recover two dead bodies after a group of four people had got into difficulty climbing the country's highest peak, which reaches more than 12,000 feet.
"At around 11:20pm last night Police were made aware of four climbers needing assistance on the west side of the mountain," officials wrote.
"A helicopter from Queenstown flew to Wanaka and picked up a member of the Department of Conservation Aoraki Search and Rescue team, while a helicopter from Dunedin flew straight to the mountain and began searching."
The police added that two uninjured climbers were airlifted from Aoraki Mt Cook at around 2.15 a.m.
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"The two helicopters completed extensive searches throughout the night for the remaining two climbers, as conditions on the mountain were calm and clear, but were unsuccessful," authorities continued.
At around 7: 00 a.m. they found the two dead climbers who had been missing.
One of the climbers who lost their lives was an International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)-qualified mountain guide, while the other was a client,1Newscited the NZ Mountain Guides Association as saying.
"One climber was seen sliding off the ridge, down the western side of Aoraki and then pulled the second climber, who was attached by a rope, off that same side," Search and Rescue pilot Nigel Gee told the outlet.
"They both slipped and went possibly about a 1500-foot slide."
The police said that the Rescue Coordination Centre were the lead agency in the recovery operation, adding that they were working "in a challenging alpine environment, to recover the two remaining climbers."
Authorities are also looking to contact the "next of kin and until that process has been completed, details of the climbers will not be released."
Known for having multiple difficult climbs, Aoraki Mt Cook is regarded as New Zealand's deadliest mountain, with 62 people having vanished on its craggy faces over the years, according to theNew Zealand Herald.
In December 2024, this included American climbers Kurt Blair, 56, Carlos Romero, 50, whowent missingon the mountain, which stands around 130 miles west of the city of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand.
PEOPLE has contacted the New Zealand police and the New Zealand Mountains Guide Association for further comment.
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