Four Mexican fall to death while climbing Pico de Orizaba mountain

Four Mexicans fell to their deaths while climbing the Pico de Orizaba – the country's tallest mountain, officials said on Sunday.

The climbers reportedly fell while scaling the southern slope of the 5,675-metre-tall mountain located in south-central Mexico. The mountain is also known by its indigenous name Citlaltepetl.

Two of the climbers were from the neighbouring state of Veracruz, and one from Puebla and Orizaba each, the civil defence office of Puebla said. The fourth body was recovered on Monday.

Photos distributed by the office showed rescue workers trying to recover the bodies down from a loose, rocky apron below an even steeper slope above the snow line.

"The mountain search and rescue group and the support of the Red Cross were used for the recovery of the bodies and their descent," the authorities wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.

Puebla governor Sergio Salomon offered his condolences to the families of the climbers. People from the civil defence office are coordinating with the municipality and the Red Cross, he said.

Pico de Orizaba is the highest mountain in the country and the tallest volcano in North America where accidents at peak are not uncommon.

In 2015, two mummified bodies of mountaineers were found, who were reportedly buried by an avalache in 1958, while trying to ascend the north face of Pico de Orizaba.

A member of the US diplomatic mission died while climbing the mountain in 2018, the embassy in Mexico said.

In November 2017, another American climber died and seven others were rescued on the mountain.

Meanwhile, a Mexican climber named Perla Tijerina spent 32 days at the top of the mountain earlier this year as part of a dare.