US climber among 2 killed in fall on New Zealand's highest peak

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A U.S. climber was among two people killed in a fall on Aoraki, New Zealand's tallest peak, authorities said Wednesday.

The men were part of a four-person group climbing near the summit of Aoraki, also known as Mount Cook, on Monday. Two members were rescued by helicopter after authorities received a distress call late that night.

The other two couldn't be found. Searchers in helicopters looked for them through the night before their bodies were discovered on Tuesday morning local time.

Specialists from rescue organizations and government agencies recovered the men's bodies later on Tuesday, Police Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said. None of the climbers has been publicly identified, but Walker said one of the dead men was from the U.S.

Authorities, she said, were working with the U.S. consulate. A coroner in New Zealand will investigate the deaths.

The other person who died was an internationally-recognized climbing guide and a member of the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, the organization said in a statement.

Sgt. Kevin McErlain told The Timaru Herald on Tuesday the pair had been connected by a rope when they fell near the summit of Aoraki, which is on New Zealand's South Island.

The pair rescued were another mountain guide and their client, whose nationalities are not known. They were uninjured.

Aoraki is 3,724 meters (12,218 feet) high and is part of the Southern Alps, the scenic and icy mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A settlement of the same name at its base is a destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

The peak is popular among experienced climbers. Its terrain is technically difficult due to crevasses, avalanche risk, changeable weather and glacier movement.

More than 240 deaths have been recorded on the mountain and in the surrounding national park since the start of the 20th century. Dozens of those who died on the mountain have never been found.

Those disappearances include three men, two from the United States and one from Canada, who were believed to have died on Aoraki in December 2024. The Americans — Kurt Blair, 56, from Colorado and Carlos Romero, 50, of California — were certified alpine guides.