(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-28 19:52

CHENGDU -- Rescuers have retrieved remains believed to be the bodies of two Japanese mountaineers who disappeared 26 years ago in southwest China, a mountaineering association official said on Friday.

The two mountaineers were among a 12-strong team from Hokkaido, Japan, which set out to climb Mount Gongga in Sichuan Province in May 1981. Eight members disappeared after a fall when the team was moving to an area 7,450 meters above sea level, said Gao Min, deputy secretary-general of the Sichuan Provincial Mountaineering Association.

The remains of two bodies would be the last of the eight climbers to be found, and Chinese and Japanese authorities had continued to search in the intervening decades, said Gao.

Local villagers reported the discovery on Mount Gongga to the government of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze in early June, which then informed the mountaineering association, Gao said.

On June 9, a search team led by Gao arrived at the site where the remains were found on a glacier at 4,040 meters above sea level.

"From the features of the gloves and bands found beside the remains, we believed that they were the missing climbers," Gao said.

According to Gao's description, the remains were still enveloped in clothes that had the name of one victim.

The discovery was relayed to the Japanese authorities and four climbers of the former mountaineering team came to the site accompanied by Gao on September 8.

"The remains were cremated and buried at the site on Sep. 16 according to international practice, after the four climbers paid their last respects to their colleagues," Gao said.

Gongga -- Tibetan for "highest snow-capped mountain" -- attracts both tourists and mountaineers to its soaring peaks and panoramic scenery. It has more than 20 peaks above 6,000 meters, the highest at 7,556 meters.