Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Four Mexican fall to death while climbing Pico de Orizaba mountain

Climbers fall while scaling southern slop of Mexico’s tallest mountain

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Monday 21 August 2023 11:33 BST
Comments
Rescue workers search for the bodies of Mexican climbers who died while climbing the Pico de Orizaba
Rescue workers search for the bodies of Mexican climbers who died while climbing the Pico de Orizaba (Account of the General Coordination of Civil Protection of the State of Puebla)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Four Mexicans fell to their deaths while climbing the Pico de Orizaba – the country's tallest mountain, officials said on Sunday.

The climbers reportedly fell while scaling the southern slope of the 5,675-metre-tall mountain located in south-central Mexico. The mountain is also known by its indigenous name Citlaltepetl.

Two of the climbers were from the neighbouring state of Veracruz, and one from Puebla and Orizaba each, the civil defence office of Puebla said. The fourth body was recovered on Monday.

Photos distributed by the office showed rescue workers trying to recover the bodies down from a loose, rocky apron below an even steeper slope above the snow line.

"The mountain search and rescue group and the support of the Red Cross were used for the recovery of the bodies and their descent," the authorities wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.

Puebla governor Sergio Salomon offered his condolences to the families of the climbers. People from the civil defence office are coordinating with the municipality and the Red Cross, he said.

Pico de Orizaba is the highest mountain in the country and the tallest volcano in North America where accidents at peak are not uncommon.

In 2015, two mummified bodies of mountaineers were found, who were reportedly buried by an avalache in 1958, while trying to ascend the north face of Pico de Orizaba.

A member of the US diplomatic mission died while climbing the mountain in 2018, the embassy in Mexico said.

In November 2017, another American climber died and seven others were rescued on the mountain.

Meanwhile, a Mexican climber named Perla Tijerina spent 32 days at the top of the mountain earlier this year as part of a dare.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in