Body of Catalan hiker killed in Armenia avalanche found

The body of a Catalan hiker killed in an avalanche in Armenia on Tuesday has been found by rescue teams, according to the Rescue Service of the Armenian Ministry of the Interior.

The victim is a resident of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, in northern Catalonia, who was buried by an avalanche on the northern summit of Mount Aragats, an extinct volcano with an altitude of over 4,000 meters.

He was there with eight other Catalans, seven of whom were injured and hospitalized, while one was unharmed and cooperated with authorities to locate the deceased hiker.

According to the same sources, the search tasks began at 6 am local time and the body was located shortly after 10.

Spain's foreign affairs minister José Manuel Albares announced that one of the rescued was already out of hospital.

Avalanche

The Aragatsotn regional crisis management center received a call about the accident just before 12:30 pm, according to Armenia's Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Firefighters, rescue teams, and emergency responders were deployed to the site, successfully rescuing eight climbers. A ninth climber was missing. The rescued mountaineers have suffered varying degrees of injuries.

In statements to the media,  Albares explained that of the eight rescued climbers, seven had to be hospitalized, but their lives were not in danger. The eighth was unharmed and collaborated with authorities to locate the ninth climber.

"It is thanks to this prompt intervention that we did not have to regret more victims," Albares told journalists from Spain's Congress on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the mayor of La Seu d'Urgell, Joan Barrera, explained that, of the eight injured, five or six are residents of La Seu d'Urgell or nearby municipalities. In addition to the two GRAE members there is also another volunteer firefighter from Montferrer park.

Barrera specified that the injured were evacuated to hospital after 4 pm, four with serious injuries and the rest were minor injuries. The injuries include fractures, head trauma and hypothermia. The prognosis for all of them is favorable, according to the mayor.

Finally, the mayor said that the La Seu d'Urgell Council has made itself available to the relatives of the climbers involved in this "shocking" event.

Sources from the Unió Excursionista Urgellenca, based in La Seu d’Urgell, a town close to the Andorran border, told ACN that at least four of their members were caught in the avalanche and suffered fractures.

Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the situation through its diplomatic representation in Armenia. It is mobilizing its Consular Emergency Unit, a division of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for assisting Spanish citizens abroad in crisis situations. 

The ministry is in constant communication with the Embassy of Armenia in Spain, the Catalan government, and the Spanish government's delegation in Catalonia.

Catalan interior minister Núria Parlon confirmed on X that three of those rescued are part of the Catalan firefighters' brigade. She also thanked Armenian rescue teams and offered her support to family members.