Bodies of Two Romanian Climbers Found in Italian Alps Crevasse

The bodies of two Romanian climbers were found Monday morning at the bottom of a 65-foot crevasse in the Gran Paradiso massif of the Italian Alps, regional authorities said. The men, whose ages were not disclosed, had not been heard from since leaving a mountain refuge on July 9, according to Aosta Valley officials.

Rescuers determined they died after falling into the crevasse, ANSA reported, citing the recovery team.

Gran Paradiso rises to 4,061 meters inside Italy's oldest national park. The discovery ended several days of helicopter searches. Mountain accidents remain common in Italy. A record 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers died in the Italian mountains over one week earlier this year, including 10 killed by avalanches.

In 2025, such accidents caused 528 deaths, a 13 percent increase from 466 fatalities in 2024, according to the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps. In November 2025, five German mountaineers, including a man and his teenage daughter, died in an avalanche in South Tyrol.