Chile stops search for 3 European mountain climbers

Chilean authorities have suspended a search for three Europeans who went missing early this month after embarking on an expedition to scale one of South America’s most active volcanoes.

Police and mountaineering teams participated in the wide-ranging search for the French, Italian and Russian mountain climbers across 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) for nine days. They called it off on Friday.

They were assisted by a police helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging camera and a private helicopter chartered by the Italian’s family, but the efforts were hindered by conflicting information over where the men were when they last contacted friends and family by phone.

Based on information from the girlfriend of one of the climbers, the early search focused in the vicinity of the 2,850-meter (9,350-foot) high Villarrica volcano, 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Santiago.

But cell phone traces on another climber later showed that the trio had in fact diverted to another volcano, the 2,360-meter Quetrupillan, about 30 kilometers away.

Bad weather further complicated the rescue efforts, Janet Medrano of the national emergency service told AFP.

Searchers had found “no signs or evidence of any kind” of the missing climbers, she said.

But she said several rescue workers will remain ready, “just in case there are new clues or signs that would re-activate the search.”

Officials have said they feared the men did not have adequate gear when they began climbing.

The three men were Italian Luca Ogliengo, 25, Dimitri Sivenkov of Russia, 35, and Frenchman Guilhem Bellon, 25.