The authorities announced on Sunday (October 24) that a snow-covered volcano in Chimborazo, Ecuador (center) had an avalanche, killing at least three people and missing three others.
The previous assessment report of the integrated security service ECU911 stated that 4 people were killed and 1 person was injured. “It is reported that among the 16 people, 3 climbers are missing, 3 people died, 3 people were injured, and 7 people were rescued.”Quito firefighters said in a statement.
According to the Quito Daily newspaper, the climber who climbed Chimborazo was Ecuadorian Commercial News.
The avalanche has nothing to do with volcanic activity. According to firefighters, it is due to ” weather”. “When the avalanche hit at 6 o’clock, a group of people were climbing the snow-covered Chimborazo 100 metres” ECU911 said in a statement that the altitude is higher than sea level.
Chimborazo is a snow-capped volcano in Ecuador, 6,293 meters above sea level, about 130 kilometers south of Quito. It is the highest peak in the Ecuadorian Andes and one of the highest peaks in the world. At its feet are the towns of Riobamba and Ambato (the capitals of Chimborazo and Tungurahua provinces). The non-skiing plot attracts climbers from home and abroad.
Temporarily closed
Police, soldiers, and rescuers who specialize in high mountain operations went to Chimborazo, where the authorities set up a unified command office to coordinate rescue operations.
The Ministry of Environment of Ecuador has ordered the temporary closure of the Chimborazo Nature Reserve, which is frequented by tourists.
In 2003, the body of an Ecuadorian plane that crashed in 1976 was found at the foot of the volcano, with 59 people on board. The device hit a wall in Chimborazo and was hidden by snow after the avalanche until it was spotted by climbers about 700 meters from the top of the mountain.
In 2015, the remains of three climbers were found at an altitude of 5,600 meters, possibly foreigners, who disappeared 20 to 30 years ago.
In 1994, an avalanche in Chimborazo caused 10 deaths, including 6 French and one Swiss.
The last eruption of the volcano occurred between the beginning of Velectronic Century and the end of the seventh centuryelectronic Century, according to the Quito Institute of Geophysics. “The average interval between eruptions is a thousand years, so Chimborazo is considered a potentially active volcano”.