Three Latvian climbers died after falling near Denali Pass on Mount McKinley in Alaska's Denali National Park; a fourth climber was rescued and airlifted to hospital. The incident involved four members of a seven-person team who fell roughly 2,100 feet below the summit. The Park Service has shifted from search-and-rescue to recovery operations and withholds fatality details until next-of-kin are notified. The Latvian Mountaineering Association named the deceased and said another climber remains in critical condition.
Three Latvian Climbers Killed in Fall on Mount McKinley; Fourth Airlifted to Hospital
FILE PHOTO: Undated handout photo courtesy of the National Park Service shows the West Buttress of Mount McKinley in Alaska. REUTERS/National Park Service/Handout/File Photo
Three climbers from Latvia died after a fall on Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, while a fourth team member survived and was evacuated for medical care, the Latvian Mountaineering Association said on Friday.
The National Park Service reported that four members of a seven-person expedition fell on Wednesday in the vicinity of Denali Pass — roughly 2,100 feet (about 640 metres) below the mountain's 20,310-foot summit. Rescuers recovered one survivor from a mountain basin at about 17,200 feet on Thursday and transferred that person by air ambulance to a hospital.
Park Service Response
The Park Service said operations for the three remaining climbers have "transitioned from a search and rescue mission to a recovery effort." The agency noted it does not release information about fatalities until 72 hours after next-of-kin have been notified.
Victims Identified
Separately, the Latvian Mountaineering Association named the three deceased climbers as Inese Puceka, Vija Olte and Renars Kunigs-Salaks, and said a fourth climber who also fell, Mārtiņš Bilzēns, remained in critical condition. The association's announcement was shared via an English translation of a statement posted on its website.
The Park Service said the three members of the expedition who were not injured remained on the mountain, had tended to their fallen partners, and later returned safely to a higher camp. The Latvian Mountaineering Association said those three planned to descend from a 17,000-foot camp with assistance from rescuers.
Name and Context
The peak is widely known to Alaska Natives and local residents as Denali, meaning "the high one" in the Athabascan indigenous language. It was officially named for President William McKinley in 1917. The mountain's official name has been the subject of recent administrative changes: the name Denali was restored by the Obama administration in 2015, and subsequent federal decisions have at times reinstated the name McKinley.
"This is an indescribably painful and irreversible loss for the entire Latvian climbing community," the Latvian Mountaineering Association said in its statement.
Reporting credited Steve Gorman; editing by Jacqueline Wong. The Park Service and the Latvian association provided the primary accounts of the incident.
Help us improve.
