SEOUL, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Two South Korean mountain climbers fell to their deaths while trying to scale a mountain in the Nepalese Himalayas, an alpine group said.
The Korean Alpine Federation said Kim Hyung-il, the 43-year-old leader of the K2 Extreme team, and Chang Ji-myeong died Friday afternoon on the north face of the 21,129-foot Mt. Cholatse, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The two men were attempting to reach Cholatse's summit in 36 hours and died at an altitude of 16,896 feet, Yonhap said.
The KAF said other members of the team had left the base camp and found the two men's bodies after losing contact with them.
Kim had participated in a search-and-rescue effort to find three other South Korean mountaineers missing since Oct. 18.
All three have been presumed dead after falling into a deep crevice, Yonhap said. Rescue workers called off a search in late October, and funerals were held for the three men in Seoul Nov. 3.
Among them was Park Young-seok, 47, one of the world's most accomplished climbers.
