the basque mountaineers Amaia Aguirre e Research Bilbao are missing after being surprised by a Snow avalanche as they descended from the peak Fitz Royin Argentine Patagonia.
As confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Consulate in Bahía Blanca and the embassy in Buenos Aires are aware of the case and are taking the necessary steps.
The avalanche would have taken place yesterday Thursday at Fitz Roy, a 3,405-meter mountain located on the border between Argentina and Chile, what would they have dragged into a crack, as has been transferred by the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME).
Along with the two disappeared climbers, natives of Vitoria and Durango, would be a third mountaineer, Josu Linaza, who would have managed to get out of the event alive and sound the alarm.
After attacking the Afanassieff route in Fitz Roy, and finishing the descent by rappelling, The climbers were in a “highly exposed” area where an avalanche of wet snow reached two of the three team members.
“Without hope of finding them alive”
In a statement, the Federation has indicated that the relief commission appreciates that “there is no hope of finding them alive” and there are currently “security conditions to send a rescue team until they improve and thus avoid endangering the rescuers.”
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“Since the early hours of the morning, FEDME has created a crisis cabinet coordinated by the president of FEDME himself, to deal with this accident involving both Spanish climbers, belonging to the Aragonese and Basque federations mountaineering”, he indicated.
Likewise, he has stressed that they maintain permanent contact with the Argentine and Spanish authorities, awaiting more information from other groups of mountaineers who are descending through the area where the accident occurred.