Four people were killed in an accident on the weekend while climbing the 5,636-meter-high Pico de Orizaba volcano, Mexico’s highest peak.
Civil Protection authorities in Puebla state said Sunday that the four mountaineers fell to their death. Three of the victims were from Veracruz and one was from Puebla. Their names, ages and genders weren’t disclosed by authorities.
However, the tour company Volcanes de México said on its Facebook page that the victims were Carlos Altamirano Lima, 53; José Inés Zepahua, 63; Hugo Cruz Vázquez, 19; and Humberto Kenji Muray, 58.
Altamirano, an experienced mountaineer, was the group’s guide, Volcanes de México said.
The tour company said that one of the mountaineers slipped and fell and brought his companions down with him.
The bodies of all four victims were located and taken to municipal offices in Atzitzintla, Puebla, on Monday morning, Civil Protection authorities said on social media. Photos showed rescue workers on a steep, rocky slope of the volcano.
Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, straddles Puebla and Veracruz. It is the third highest mountain peak in North America after Denali (Mount McKinley) in Alaska and Mount Logan in Canada.
Fatal accidents have occurred on Pico de Orizaba previously, including one in 2018 in which three mountain climbers lost their lives.
With reports from AFP and El Financiero
