A Cork man in his 20s and a 32-year-old climbing colleague from Britain have died in a fall in the French Alps, according to local police. The men fell to their deaths at the weekend while trying to ascend the north face of 3,842-metre Aiguille du Midi peak in the Mont Blanc range.
The men's bodies were found early yesterday at the bottom of the Frendo spur. The men, who were not named, were last seen on Saturday. Bad weather set in and the camp-site manager raised the alarm.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that one of the dead climbers was Irish. His family had been informed and arrangements were being made to provide assistance for them.
A leading Irish climber, Mr Frank Nugent, who climbed the route some years ago, last night described the route as "extremely difficult, especially in bad weather".