Remains found near Matterhorn belonged to Japanese climber
Bones and climbing equipment found last month at the base of the Matterhorn in Switzerland have been formally identified as belonging to a Japanese mountaineer who disappeared four years ago, the police have confirmed.
“On July 23, 2014, a 40-year-old Japanese mountaineer climbed the Matterhorn alone. As the man never returned from [the summit], he was considered missing,” the Valais cantonal police said in a statementExternal link on Monday.
Four years on, on September 11, a local mountain rescuer found human bones and climbing equipment at the base of the east face of the Matterhorn, the iconic 4,478-metre peak that dominates the resort of Zermatt in southern Switzerland.
The police said DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to the Japanese mountaineer who had disappeared on July 23, 2014. It added the bones had become visible as the thick snow and ice melted.
The Matterhorn, which stands on the Swiss-Italian border, is extremely popular among mountaineers. But more than 500 people have died trying to climb it since its first ascent in 1865.
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Bodies of Japanese climbers identified after 45 years
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Forty-five years after two Japanese climbers died reportedly attempting the difficult north face of the Matterhorn, their remains have been found at the foot of the glacier and formally identified thanks to DNA samples, the Valais police has said.
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On the way to the summit of Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn, the site where the rope broke in one of mountaineering’s most famous accidents is quickly followed by an eerie statue of St Bernard, patron saint of alpinists. It’s a reminder that climbing the peak is more than a physical challenge; a climber also has to grapple with history and myth.
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At the end of July a mitten, a 40-year-old camera and a human bone were recovered in one location on the spectacular Gorner glacier above Zermatt. According to Patrick Rovina, a scientific expert with the Valais cantonal police, such discoveries are a growing phenomenon. “Over recent years with the retreat of the glaciers automatically things…
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