NALCHIK, July 12. /TASS/. Russian rescuers have evacuated to a safe location a group of Belarusian tourists, who requested assistance late on Tuesday from the slopes of Europe’s tallest mountain, Mount Elbrus, while at the altitude of 5,300 meters, a duty officer of the Elbrus High-Altitude Search and Rescue Team has told TASS.
According to earlier reports, an unregistered group of mountain climbers from Belarus has been unable to descend the mountain on its own as two of its members were sick.
"Rescuers have led the tourists from Elbrus down to safety. They are already in the cable car, alive and well," the officer said.
The search and rescue team comprised eight members of the Elbrus High-Altitude Search and Rescue Team.
Shortly after, the press service of the Russian emergencies ministry’s department in the North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria said the five tourists have been taken to the town of Terskol.
"The rescue effort on Mount Elbrus was over by 11:35 p.m. Moscow time. Rescuers located the tourist group at the altitude of 5,100 meters and evacuated them to the special rescue team’s base in the town of Terskol," the press service said in a statement. "None of them required medical assistance."
The rescue effort was complicated by bad weather, including a heavy snowfall and gale winds, as well as poor visibility in nighttime.
According to verified reports, the group had five members - four Belarusians and one Russian citizen.