KATMANDU, Nepal, May 20 (UPI) -- An Italian mountaineer died and his three companions were injured, one seriously, when an avalanche hit their base camp on Mount Annapurna in west Nepal.
The dead man, identified as Christian Kuntner, 43, was trying to achieve a personal record of climbing all 14 of the world's peaks above 8,000 meters (26,000 feet), the BBC reported Thursday.
One of the climbers in the 10-member Italian team told the Himalayan Times newspaper that the avalanche struck as they were approaching the summit.
He said that both Kuntner and the seriously injured man were planning to reach the summit of Annapurna by Wednesday afternoon. If they been successful, the two would have attained their goal of climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters. Only 11 climbers have reached the summits of all 14.
They were the first casualties in the Annapurna region during the spring climbing season. Around six foreign climbers and a Sherpa guide received minor injuries when an avalanche struck their base camp on Mount Everest -- the highest peak in the world -- early this month.
