SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Five tourists were killed in a powerful snowstorm in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, in the southern region of Patagonia, authorities said on Tuesday, adding that four more who were reported missing had been found alive.
Jose Antonio Ruiz, the presidential delegate for Chile’s southern Magallanes region, said talks had begun with the representatives from the victims’ countries of origin so their bodies could be repatriated.
Two Germans, two Mexicans and one British national were killed, authorities said, adding the harsh weather was making it difficult to recover the bodies.
“I extend my deepest condolences,” President Gabriel Boric said on social media in a message to victims’ families. “Know that you have the full support and collaboration of Chilean authorities and institutions during these difficult times.”
Guillermo Ruiz, presidential delegate for the province of Ultima Esperanza, told reporters the tourists became lost near the national park’s Los Perros camp, reachable only by a four- to five-hour trek from the closest accessible point by vehicle.
The area was struck by a snowstorm causing whiteout conditions with fierce wind speeds surpassing 193 kmh (120 mph), equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.
The Torres del Paine National Park, with its jutting mountain tops and subpolar forests, spans about 1,810 square kilometers (700 square miles) and hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Fabian Cambero in SantiagoEditing by Rod Nickel and Alistair Bell)
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