Three climbers killed in Italy

Three climbers were killed today when they fell off a mountainside near the lakeside city of Lecco in northern Italy, police said.

It was not known what caused the two men and one woman, all Italians from the Como area, to fall off the side of Mount Antimedale, and investigations were continuing, the Carabinieri said.

Rescue crews were notified by a fourth climber, who was in the area.

A 47-year-old man was killed instantly, while the other two, a 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, died on the way to hospital, police said.