The body of a Catalan hiker killed in an avalanche in Armenia has been found.

BarcelonaRescue teams found the body of the missing Catalan hiker on Wednesday. due to the avalanche of snow that occurred this Monday on the highest mountain in Armenia, the Aragats, which reaches an altitude of over 4,000 meters. The victim's name was David Sala, fifty years old, and a resident of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, in the Ripollès region. He was an experienced hiker, according to sources close to him, and he set out accompanied by eight other experienced skiers on this ski mountaineering expedition that ended tragically. The other mountaineers, all Catalans, were able to escape the avalanche and were rescued in time.

Sala was a well-known figure in this Ripollès town of just over 3,000 inhabitants. "A good man," a "mountain lover," who knew everyone because he was a self-employed tinkerer, and he regularly visited the houses, businesses, and factories in the area. Originally from Pobla de Lillet, Sala had lived in Ripollès for years and also ran the Taga 2,040 race, which climbs the Catalan peak, for years.

A race that ultimately became practically his own, and he was often honored upon arrival with a shower of cava, all for holding the record for the most consecutive years running. Now, both San Juan de las Abadesas and Pobla de Lillet, where he still had family, are mourning his death. The San Juan de las Abadesas Hiking Club is also dismayed, as are the organizers of the Taga race. The mayors of both municipalities have also mourned his death.

According to sources consulted by ARA, Sala was accompanied by eight other people who were rescued on the peak of Aragats, where temperatures are below zero. Two of them are firefighters. Specifically, two of them are from the Special Actions Group (GRAE) of the Seu d'Urgell Park, and the third is a volunteer firefighter from the Montferrer Park. 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 Federation of Alpinist Entities of Catalonia.

First hospital discharge

Seven of them had to be hospitalized with injuries of varying severity, although their lives are not in danger. One of them was discharged this Wednesday, according to Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. "It is thanks to this practically immediate intervention that we have not had to mourn any further casualties," he emphasized, adding that the other hikers may be released "some time" and will be staggered. The eighth climber was unharmed and helped with the search for his missing companion. On Tuesday night, helicopters were able to locate the man's body, although it was not recovered until Wednesday due to adverse weather conditions.