#Canadian #woman #dies #avalanche #volcano #Ecuador #officials
A Canadian woman died and a fellow citizen was injured when an avalanche tumbled down the side of snow-capped Chimborazo volcano, Ecuador’s highest peak, emergency services officials said Thursday.
Security agency ECU911 in the city of Riobamba said in a statement that a man posing as a 24-year-old Canadian called to report the accident in which his 25-year-old hiking companion died.
He said they climbed Chimborazo, a potentially active volcano with year-round glaciers.
The 6,293-meter (20,646-foot) peak in the Andes, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital Quito, is the tallest in Ecuador and one of the tallest volcanoes in the world.
The avalanche happened above 5,000 meters and ECU911 said rescuers managed to recover the survivor, who was “in stable health”.
The National Risk and Emergency Services Agency said on Twitter that the avalanche struck “for reasons unknown” early Thursday as climbers scaled Chimborazo.
Rescue teams were said to be trying to recover the dead woman’s body.
Despite its dangers, Chimborazo remains a popular draw for local and international climbers.
Last October, an avalanche buried 16 Ecuadorians who were climbing to the top of the volcano. Five died and one remains missing.
Social Tags:
#Canadian #woman #dies #avalanche #volcano #Ecuador #officials
