Newsmaker
Officials: veteran climber Humar dies in Himalayas
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-14 21:27
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia: A veteran Slovenian climber was found dead in the Himalayas Saturday days after he was injured and stranded on a 23,710-foot (7,227-meter) mountain, a mountain rescue company and a close friend said.
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"They called me ... to tell me the rescue mission was over," Biner said.
Humar, 40, last contacted his base on Monday to say that he was injured while climbing Langtang Lirung.
Viki Groselj, a fellow Slovenian mountaineer and a good friend of Humar, told The Associated Press that Humar had broken his leg and become stranded.
Rescuers in Katmandu said that searches by air and on foot on Tuesday and Wednesday gave no results. They said that Sherpa guides had trekked the snowy slopes where Humar was supposed to be but could not find him.
Heavy snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday also forced climbers to postpone searches because of increased avalanche risk.
Humar was climbing a difficult route up Langtang Lirung, which has made rescue efforts even more difficult.
Biner the team "spotted him quite quickly" on Saturday.
"He was lower than expected, at 5,600 meters not 6,300 meters," he added.
It was not immediately clear when Humar died. Groselj said he had probably died on Monday or Tuesday.
Humar, who was married with two children, has climbed many mountains around the world.
In 2005, he got trapped in the Himalayas on an icy ledge of Nanga Parbat mountain at about (19,685 feet) 6,000 meters during a solo climb. Two Pakistani army helicopter pilots eventually saved him and were later decorated with Slovenia's highest award for bravery.
