Mountain Climbers Freeze to Death

(Spain) Three British mountain climbers froze to death on 11,424ft (3,482m) Mulhacen peak in the Sierra Nevada National Park in southern Spain. According to an official with the Civil Guard Mountain Rescue Service, the group recklessly ignored severe weather warnings. The dead men were identified as Colin Riddiough, 46, a former Army sergeant from Guisborough, Paul Dick, 56, and John Plews, 30, from Middlesbrough.

The deaths follow the loss of two other Brits who were stranded overnight in a snowstorm in the Picos de Europa National Park in northern Spain last month. Robert Rippengal, 39, and his girlfriend, Kate Stokes, 35, both froze to death after becoming disoriented during white-out snow conditions.