Two climbers die high on Argentine peak

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Two Italian climbers died when a storm trapped them just below the summit of the highest peak in the Americas, authorities said Thursday.

Two other Italian alpinists and their Argentine guide survived on Mount Aconcagua, and were being rescued by the crew that recovered the bodies at 22,000 feet, according to Italian consular official Giorgio Giacomello. Descent to base camp can take days.

Giacomello didn't have the identities of the dead, whose bodies were in "very bad condition," presumably because of the extreme weather.

The five climbers had been stranded since Wednesday afternoon on Mount Aconcagua. A sixth member of the group, an Italian woman, descended earlier Wednesday and escaped the storm, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

The guide sent out a distress signal, but rescue crews were delayed by the brutal storm, which caused temperatures to drop to zero degrees Fahrenheit and reduced visibility to 33 feet.

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere at 22,841 feet. Typically, two to three climbers die every year, said Juan Pablo Marziane, head of logistics with a climbing expedition company in Mendoza, the usual point of departure.

Nearly 4,600 people attempted to climb the Andes' highest peak during the 2007-2008 climbing season, during the Southern Hemisphere summer.