Three climbers die and one rescued after fall on Alaska’s Mount McKinley

Three people have died after falling while climbing Alaska ’s Mount McKinley, according to officials. A fourth climber has been rescued. The four were part of a seven-person group that had traveled to the United States to ascend Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, according to information released by the Latvian Mountaineering Association . The case was a grim reminder of how common injuries and accidents can be on the peak, which rises to 20,310ft (6,190 meters). The climbers were injured after taking a fall at Denali Pass on Wednesday, the National Park Service said in a statement a day later. Three of the climbers returned to camp after the accident. But weather conditions on the mountain did not immediately enable the service to respond by helicopter. On Friday, the park service announced that it had rescued one climber on Thursday afternoon using “a long-line extraction” after “a high-altitude helicopter was unable to land” due to terrain and conditions at the site. The climber was transported to a base camp and then airlifted to a hospital. In a brief statement , it added that “operations for the three remaining climbers have transitioned from a search and rescue mission to a recovery effort”. The park service does not release details about fatalities until 72 hours after the next-of-kin have been notified. But the Latvian Mountaineering Association shared a tribute to their friends on its website. …