San Juan
After an hour-long rescue operation in western Argentina, mountain rescuers brought to the valley the body of a missing 19-year-old woman from Germany. The rescuers took the dead woman to the local morgue for identification, the newspaper “La Nación” reported.
The 19-year-old had not returned from a hike on Cerro de las Tres Marías mountain in San Juan province. Surveillance camera footage showed her getting off a tour bus, crossing the country road and taking the hiking trail to the mountaintop.
Bad weather conditions have complicated the search for her in recent days. Search teams have located the lifeless body of a young woman from a helicopter. Mountain rescuers then entered the gorge on foot and found the body. It is not yet clear how the woman died. However, researchers believe she was probably surprised by bad weather, went off the path and crashed.
Parents who traveled from Germany thank rescue workers
The 19-year-old’s parents, who had traveled from Germany, spoke on Argentine television. “I would like to thank everyone who participated in the search. We are grateful for the help we receive,” her father told broadcaster TN. ‘She knew the mountains. She crossed the Alps with her mother.’ Where exactly she came from in Germany initially remained unclear.
The young woman came to Argentina as a volunteer for the youth exchange organization Youth For Understanding (YFU). “Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time,” YFU said in a statement on Instagram. “We express our condolences and share her pain.”
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