BODY OF 17TH MOUNTAINEER FOUND

NALCHIK, SEPTEMBER 13 /SRNA-RIA Novosti/ – Russian rescuers have found the body of a 17th mountaineer buried under an avalanche in the mountains of the Kabardino-Balkaria region, the regional emergency service said.

"Rescuers found the body of the 17th mountaineer today. Search and rescue operations have now been completed," the service said in a statement.

The regional branch of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on September 6 that an avalanche had struck a group of climbers in the Bezengi mountains in Kabardino-Balkaria.

At the time, it reported that 15 people had been killed and two were missing.