This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Three climbers have been killed and a fourth injured after being caught in an avalanche on Ben Nevis.

The incident happened in an area of the UK’s highest mountain called No 5 Gully shortly before midday on Tuesday. Members of the Lochaber and Glencoe mountain rescue teams were at the scene.

A coastguard helicopter sent from Inverness to assist was initially grounded in Fort William because the weather was too poor, but by late afternoon, it was able to reach the site as conditions improved, and began airlifting the injured and dead off the mountain.

Two of the climbers died at the scene and their bodies were taken to Fort William. Two other injured climbers were airlifted away; one died on Tuesday evening and the other was taken to Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow.

Police Scotland coordinated the mountain rescue response, with support from volunteers from Lochaber mountain rescue and Glencoe mountain rescue teams.

The Scottish ambulance service said it sent three ambulances, its air ambulance and a trauma team to the scene, while military personnel on exercises nearby also offered help.

Police said attempts to trace the next of kin were under way.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, tweeted: “This is absolutely tragic news. My thoughts are very much with the bereaved and injured. And my gratitude as always for the work of our emergency services, mountain rescue and coastguard.”

The deaths are the latest in a series of fatalities and injuries in the Highlands this winter, including two others on Ben Nevis, whose peak stands at 1,345 metres (4,413ft) above sea level. However, there have been fewer incidents overall than in previous years.

A German climber who was a student at Bristol University was killed on New Year’s Day after falling about 150 metres from a ridge on a climb with three other people. In December, Patrick Boothroyd, 21, from West Yorkshire, died after a snow ledge collapsed on Tower Gully.

In February, one of the UK’s most revered winter climbers, Andy Nisbet, was killed on Ben Hope in Sutherland with his climbing partner Steve Perry, while they were exploring new routes on the 927-metre peak.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service had issued a warning on Monday for the Lochaber area, which includes Ben Nevis, because the unusually mild weather and high winds had meant the avalanche risk was high.

Heather Morning, a mountain safety adviser with Mountaineering Scotland, said: “It’s absolutely tragic that two more people have lost their lives on Scotland’s mountains, and our condolences are with their families and friends.

“We had a very unseasonably mild February – that’s why we put out a warning that winter was coming back, because some people were in summer mode. But these latest tragedies reinforce our message to do your homework before setting out to enjoy the hills. To put it in context, hundreds of thousands of people enjoy Scotland’s mountains each winter and only a tiny minority end up in trouble.”