Bodies of four climbers recovered in southern Siberia

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of four climbers who fell during an ascent in the mountains of southern Siberia, an emergency official said today.

Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said the four had fallen as a group while climbing on Tuesday near the Lake Pazaryk waterfalls in the Khakasia region, about 2,100 miles east of Moscow.

A second group of climbers notified emergency officials, but bad weather hampered rescue efforts, he said. One of the climbers apparently died immediately, while the three others died later of severe injuries and exposure, Beltsov said.

The incident was the latest in a series of fatalities among climbers and tourists in Russian mountains this winter.

Last week, an avalanche killed three students climbing with a group in the mountains along the Russian-Georgian border.