Editor's note: This updates with details that the climbers were from Latvia.
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska — A recovery mission was underway Friday on Mount McKinley in Denali National Park for a trio of Latvian climbers who died in a fall in the vicinity of Denali Pass.
According to park releases, one climber was rescued Thursday afternoon from a basin on the mountain at an elevation of 17,200. However, efforts to rescue three others have transitioned to a "recovery" mission, a park release said.
The unidentified rescued climber was taken off the mountain via a long-line extraction in which the injured party often is placed in a stretcher or a harness attached to a rescuer. They in turn are attached to a helicopter by a long rope.
Park officials said the climber was transported to the Kahiltna Base Camp and then transferred to a LifeMed air ambulance for transport to a hospital. No further information on the climber's condition was available.
Meanwhile, operations for the three remaining climbers "have transitioned from a search and rescue mission to a recovery effort," the release said.
The four who fell apparently were part of a party of seven climbers from Latvia. They fell around midnight Thursday in the vicinity of Denali Pass at 18,200 feet during their climb. Three members of the climbing team returned to High Camp at 17,000 feet after attending to their fallen climbing partners.
The Latvia Mountaineering Association identified the three as Inese Pučeka, Vija Olte, and Renārs Kunigs-Salaks.
"Mārtiņš Bilzēns was also injured in the accident and was evacuated in critical condition and transferred to the care of US medical personnel," the association said in a post on its website. "The other expedition members — Valdis Puriņš, Edgars Madžulis and Guntis Svariņš — remained at camp after the accident to begin their safe descent with the help of rescuers.
"The Latvian Mountaineering Union expresses its deepest condolences to the families of Inese, Vija and Renārs, their loved ones, friends, and everyone whose paths in life have brought them together. This is an unspeakably painful, irreparable loss for the entire family of Latvian mountain climbers."
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