The body of a Catalan hiker killed in an avalanche in Armenia has been found.
Two helicopters and 51 people have searched for the mountaineer for hours, who has been buried in the snow.
BarcelonaRescue teams found the body of the Catalan hiker who went missing yesterday due to the snow avalanche that occurred on Armenia's highest mountain, Mount Aragats, which is over 4,000 meters high. "Armenian search and rescue teams found the body of the missing Spanish mountaineer on Mount Aragats," the Armenian Rescue Service reported in a statement, specifying that the discovery took place at 10:15 a.m. local time.
On Tuesday afternoon, the ARA was able to confirm that the Catalan hiker had died buried in the snow by an avalanche in Armenia, as confirmed by the mayor of La Seu d'Urgell, Joan Barrera, and other sources consulted by this newspaper. The man is DST, 50 years old and a resident of Sant Joan de les Abadesses. The mountaineer was participating in an ascent to the northern peak of Mount Aragats, a 4,000-meter-high dormant volcano, while ski touring with eight other Catalan hikers, most of them from the capital of Alt Urgell. An avalanche surprised them, and while most were able to escape, one was unable to escape, and rescue services have been trying to recover his body. Rescuers located him but were unable to approach the body due to poor light and adverse weather conditions, according to José Daniel Barquero, the honorary consul of Armenia in Barcelona, in statements to Efe.
The avalanche alert was received at 3:25 p.m. in the Caucasian country (12:25 p.m. Spanish time). Rescue services managed to reach the eight hikers, who were injured, and a helicopter extracted them from the area. The search for the missing person, who is now presumed dead, was suspended at 7:00 p.m. (Spanish time) after four hours. Two helicopters and around fifty people were involved.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares explained that seven hikers are hospitalized and safe, and the eighth rescued person has helped in the search for the missing climber's body. "We hope to locate him as soon as possible," Albares said.
According to sources consulted by ARA, those affected are a group of Catalans, including several firefighters, specifically from the Special Actions Support Group at the Seu d'Urgell park, and also a volunteer firefighter. None of them are the deceased hikers. Of the nine climbers, six were from Seu d'Urgell, and six of those rescued are also members of the Unió Excursionista Urgellenca (Urgell Hiking Union) and the Federación de Entidades Alpinistas de Catalunya (Catalan Federation of Mountaineering Entities).
President Salvador Illa has written on social media that he is "monitoring the needs of the people rescued after an avalanche in Armenia." "With Ministers Jaume Duch and Núria Parlon, we are following up with the government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are available to those affected and their families," the president added. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the situation on the ground through its diplomatic representation in Armenia, and the Emergency Contingency Unit is mobilized. It is in contact with the Armenian Embassy in Spain, the Generalitat, and the Spanish Government Delegation in Catalonia.