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Remains of missing Japanese hiker found on Matterhorn

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Remains of missing Japanese hiker found on Matterhorn
The Matterhorn. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP.

Bones discovered at the foot of the Matterhorn have been identified as the remains of a Japanese national who disappeared on the iconic mountain four years ago, Swiss police said Monday October 1st.

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Police in the canton of Valais said that a 40-year-old climber, who had set out alone, disappeared on the Matterhorn on July 23rd, 2014. 

"He never returned and was presumed missing," the police statement said.  Four years later, on September 11th, a rescue worker in the area found human bones and climbing equipment at the foot of the mountain's eastern wall. 

"DNA analysis has enabled us to determine that it is the Japanese climber," police said, noting that the remains were revealed by melting snow. 

READ ALSO: Mountain climber found dead in the Silvretta Alps in Switzerland

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Receding snow and ice in the Alps has previously revealed the bones of people who had been missing for years, including two extraordinary incidents last year. 

In August of 2017, the remains of a German hiker who vanished 30 years ago while climbing the Lagginhorn mountain in southern Switzerland were found embedded in a glacier. 

That discovery came just two days after a Swiss couple who disappeared while walking in the Alps in 1942 were found in a receding glacier.

READ ALSO: Swiss glaciers lost 3 to 4 percent ice in the last year alone

A pair of Japanese climbers aged 20 and 21, who perished on the perilous mountain in 1970, were identified with DNA by police in the canton of Valais in 2015. 

Up until 2015 alone, more than 500 people perished trying to scale Matterhorn's extreme slopes.

Another study says 10 people on average die each year climbing the perilous mountain, making the slopes on Matterhorn Switzerland's most deadly. 

READ MORE: Japanese climbers die after scaling Matterhorn

 

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