Kathmandu (Nepal) - According to the authorities, five climbers from Russia have died in an accident in the Himalayas on the seventh highest mountain in the world . The bodies of the climbers were found on the 8,167-meter-high Dhaulagiri 1, also known as the "White Mountain", said a spokesman for the tourism office at the Nepalese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

A search team discovered the bodies from the air at an altitude of around 7,600 meters. No decision has yet been made about their recovery. The death of the Russian climbers was also confirmed by the organizer of their tour, I AM Trekking & Expedition.

The exact cause of the accident was initially unclear. The head of the company suspected that they might have fallen on the way down.

According to the report, they had informed the base camp by radio the previous Sunday that they had begun their descent at an altitude of 8,000 meters. It was too late for the final ascent to the summit. Contact was then lost, they said. They have been missing ever since. According to Nepalese officials, there had been heavy snowstorms in the affected area in recent days.

The Himalayas are home to 10 of the 14 mountains in the world whose peaks are over 8,000 meters high, including Mount Everest, which is the highest at 8,849 meters above sea level. The autumn mountaineering season in the Himalayas begins in September.