The bodies of five Russian climbers, who had been missing for two days during an expedition on Dhaulagiri I, were discovered on Tuesday afternoon, authorities have confirmed.

According to the District Police Office, Myagdi, the climbers, identified as Alexander Dasyko, Olek Kruglov, Sistikov Vladimir, Nosehnko Mikhail, and Shpilevich Dmitry, were found by a mountain rescue team.

“The bodies of all five Russian climbers, who went missing during the Dhaulagiri expedition, have been found, and there are plans to airlift them by helicopter,” said Bharat Shrestha, chief of District Police Office, Myagdi. “However, I am currently unaware of the latest updates regarding weather conditions and the possibility of a rescue operation.”

The climbers had last been in contact on October 6 at 11 pm, after reaching an altitude of 8,000 metres. The peak is 8,167 metres high.

The Russian climbers had embarked on the Dhaulagiri expedition through IAM Trekking and Expedition, based in Kathmandu. A video posted on the company’s Facebook page by Pemba Jangbu Sherpa on September 28 showed footage taken by Alexander Dasyko, in which heavy snowfall and damage to the campsite were visible, suggesting that severe weather conditions may have contributed to their deaths.

This year, a total of 14 male climbers have received permits to scale Dhaulagiri I. The data released by the Department of Tourism on September 16 shows that 14 permits were issued for the autumn season this time.