 06.01.2006 - Kilimanjaro deadly climb |
06.01.2006 - When death rained down the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro
Quelle : Reuters , 5.Januar 2006 08:37
DAR ES SALAM - Drei Touristen, einschließlich eines Amerikaners, wurden getötet als den Mt. Kilimanjaro Felsen herabstürzten und auf Bergsteiger einschlugen, die sich vorbereiteten den Gipfel des höchsten Bergs Afrikas zu ersteigen, sagte ein Beamter am Donnerstag. Der Direktor der Tanzania-National-Parks Gerald Bigurube sagte, dass fünf andere Leute durch einen Felsrutsch nahe dem Arrow Glacier Base Camp ( Arrow-Gletscher-Basis-Lager) in der Frühe am Mittwoch verletzt wurden. Das Lager, gelegen auf einer Höhe von 4.700m, liegt an einer der schwierigsten Routen am Berg. "Ich kann bestätigen, dass drei Menschen getötet und fünf verletzt wurden" sagte Bigurube gegenüber Reuters. "Wir klären die Identitäten" sagte Mohamed Chiko, Kommandant der örtlichen Polizei. Das einer der Toten ein Amerikaner ist, war ein Beamter der U.S. Botschaft nicht in der Lage zu bestätigen. Aufsteigend in 5.895m (19,430 Fuß) Höhe, der Mount Kilimanjaro, im Norden von Tanzania, mit den drei Gipfeln --- Shira, Kibo und Mawenzi. Jedes Jahr ziehen mehr als 20.000 Trekker aus, um das "Dach von Afrika", den größten Vulkan der Welt, zu erreichen. U.S.Wissenschaftler haben vorhergesagt, dass die immer schneller schmelzenden Gletscher in 20 Jahren verschwunden sein werden. Es gilt als sicher, das die schrumpfenden Gletscher die Felsen gelöst haben, die sie sonst an ihrem Platz hielten.
DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Three tourists, including one American, were killed when rocks tumbled down Mount Kilimanjaro and smashed into climbers preparing to scale the peak of Africa‘s highest mountain, officials said on Thursday. Tanzania National Parks director Gerald Bigurube said five other people were injured by the rock slide close to Arrow Glacier base camp early on Wednesday. The camp, located at an altitude of some 4,700 metres, lies on one of the mountain‘s most arduous routes. "I can confirm that three people were killed and five were injured," Bigurube told Reuters. "We‘re sorting out the identities." Mohamed Chiko, commander of the local police, said one of the dead was an American, but U.S. embassy officials were unable to confirm this. Rising to 5,895 metres (19,430 feet), Mount Kilimanjaro, in northern Tanzania, has three peaks -- Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi. Every year, more than 20,000 trekkers set out to reach the "roof of Africa", the world‘s largest volcano.
U.S. scientists have predicted that the mountain‘s fast-melting glaciers will disappear in less than 20 years. It is thought that the shrinking glaciers have loosened rocks they once held in place.
MOUNT KILIMANJARO NATIONAL PARK, Tanzania — The climbers were asleep in their tents before a predawn ascent of Africa‘s highest peak, when the boulders rained down. Three Americans died and two were seriously injured. The Americans were among several dozen foreign climbers from various tour groups camped near Arrow glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro‘s difficult Western Breach when the rockslide occurred Wednesday. The dead were identified as Kristian Ferguson, 27, of Longmont, Colo.; Mary Lou Sammis, 58, of Huntington, N.Y.; and Betty Orrik Sapp, 63, of Melrose, Mass. The trip was a lifelong dream of Sapp and her husband, William W. Sapp Jr., both physicists, said neighbor Jeannine Holden. The husband survived. Ferguson, a satellite engineer in Boulder, Colo., had been hiking with his wife and others from the Colorado Mountain Club, friends said. "Kris had a lucky star, up until the day before yesterday," said his father, Paul Ferguson, of Redmond, Wash. "He was always energetic and brilliant at whatever he tried. He was able to deal with the most technical problems, and yet he was the most cerebral type of person when it came to things like psychology and philosophy." Debbie Ramsey, a family friend answering the telephone at the Sammis home, said Sammis was in Tanzania with her husband, Scott, and three adult children. Mary Sammis "loved to hike and was always going on hiking trips with friends," Ramsey said. "Mary was a very upbeat, wonderful, great friend." The injured Americans were flown to Nairobi, Kenya, for treatment, said James Wakibara, acting spokesman for Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. Several Tanzanian guides also were initially reported killed, but regional police commander Mohamed Chico said Thursday that no Tanzanians had been found among the dead. Of the world‘s top peaks, Kilimanjaro is among the easiest to scale — though, as Wednesday‘s slide demonstrated, it can be deadly. The climbers set out Saturday to climb the Umbwe route, the most difficult on Mount Kilimanjaro, which at 19,340 feet is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Even so, the route is only a very difficult hike, not requiring safety ropes or special equipment.
Summiting at dawn
The group had taken several days to reach the camp at Arrow glacier, the normal resting point at 15,800 feet, before summiting Uhuru peak along the Umbwe route. Climbers usually arrive before nightfall and sleep until they begin the ascent at about 2 a.m. to reach the summit at dawn. Above the campsite is a steep slope of loose gravel, and above that is the crater wall of an extinct volcano. While the climbers were sleeping, boulders and rocks broke off the wall and fell on the campsite, said Thomas Kimaro, owner of Alpine Tours. Wakibara said a rescue team was immediately sent up the mountain along with every available porter to help bring down the dead and injured. By Thursday morning, more than 50 foreign climbers had been brought down, some with minor injuries, and the Umbwe route was clear, he said. [12]
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Koreaner stirbt am Stella Point [8]
