“They found them like this” Tragedy on Mont Blanc, the discovery on Sara and Andrea on the discovery: they did it to protect themselves

The two climbers tried in vain to warm up: how they were found

United in a last embrace. This is how rescuers found Andrea Galimberti and Sara Stefanelli, the two mountaineers Italians missing since last Saturday on Mont Blanc and found dead yesterday.

A last, desperate attempt to warm each other and resist the grip of the cold which, unfortunately, ultimately proved fatally lethal. The bodies of the two climbers were found and recovered by the High mountain peloton Of Chamonix after yet another helicopter flyover.

The discovery of the bodies of the two climbers

According to the GPS signal from their phone, the position of the two climbers was around 4500 meters above sea level, on the “Wall of the Cote”a steep icy slope leading to the summit, French side.

Position that allowed rescuers, once the weather conditions became more favorable, to locate them. The most supported hypothesis on the causes of death is that offrostbite. It is thought, in fact, that death may have occurred on the same day, Saturday, following the outbreak of the storm that surprised them. Once identified, the bodies were taken to Chamonix.

Not even 100 meters away from the Italian climbers, the bodies of the others were also found two missing mountaineers of Korean originalso affected by the bad weather.

Rescue efforts slowed down by bad weather

The search operations by the rescuers immediately encountered a series of difficulties deriving from the bad weather conditions.

In the last few days, in fact, more than 50 centimeters of fresh snow who buried the crampon tracks on the glacier.

Paul Commonhead of the Aosta Valley Alpine Rescue, explained:

“We had thought of leaving a team on foot on the summit with two people who could search for the missing. But the conditions up there are too dangerous, both because of the wind that makes the operation difficult and because of the unstable snow that can cause avalanches.”

The last desperate cry for help

“We can’t see anything, come and get us, we risk freezing to death”. This is the heartfelt and desperate appeal launched to rescuers by Andrea Galimberti and Sara Stefanelli, who found themselves at 4600 meters above sea level, with temperatures at -15 and winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour.

The hopes of finding the two mountaineers still alive have diminished over time, despite the trust in the previous experience especially of Andrea, with numerous ascents in the Alps behind him. Hopes, unfortunately, that have not materialized.