At least eight people have been killed while trying to ascend Eurasia's highest active volcano-- the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano. Four others are still stuck after freezing winds halted a rescue attempt.
The 12-strong group including two guides began their ascend of the 4,754-metre tall volcano on Tuesday. Six of the group fell to their death at almost 4,200 metres, two died shortly afterwards. The Klyuchevskaya Sopka is located in eastern Russia's Kamchatka region.
“They (the rescuers) were scheduled to land at an altitude of 3,300m, but due to gale force winds at 30 metres per second (67mph), they failed to do so, although two attempts were made a few hours apart,” rescuers told Reuters.
One of the guides has broken a leg. The condition of the remaining climbers isn't known. Rescuers will make an attempt to reach the survivors on Monday if weather conditions allowed. The temperatures at Sopka can go to minus 14 deg C at night. The mountain is made of volcanic rocks mixed with snow and ice and is considered particularly hazardous to climb. The mountain, known for its natural beauty is part of the natural Volcanoes of Kamchatka Unesco World heritage site.