German mountaineer dies during climb in Argentina

A 63-year-old German mountaineer has died while climbing Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas, a police official said Tuesday.

A mountain patrol found Var Karl Meinz dead Tuesday morning on the mountain at an altitude of about 6,000 meters (1,9685 feet), an official with the security secretary of the province of Mendoza said.

The cause of death has not been determined yet, the official said.

Meinz, who was accompanied by a guide, was attempting to reach the summit of Aconcagua, which at 6,962 meters (22,841 feet) is the highest in the western hemisphere.

Each year, hundreds of climbers scale the mountain during the southern hemisphere summer. Last season, eight climbers died, and another 300 had to be evacuated.