Police in New Zealand say they believe three men who went missing days ago on Aoraki Mount Cook – the country’s tallest mountain – are dead.
Americans Kurt Blair, 56, and Carlos Romero, 50, and an unnamed Canadian national were reported missing on Monday when they failed to meet their flight out from the mountain.
Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said on Friday that police believed the three men had fallen while trying to cross a ridge.
The search for them has been hampered by bad weather in recent days and Ms Walker said this would now be wound down.
Helicopters and drones have been used to try and trace the location of the three climbers, who set out to climb Mount Cook on Saturday.
Ms Walker said drone footage showed evidence of where the climbers had begun to cross the slopes .
