Two Korean hikers die climbing Mont Blanc

The bodies of two South Korean hikers who had set out to climb the Alps' highest peak have been recovered, three days after they lost contact with the rest of their group, according to the Korean Embassy in France.

French authorities found the bodies approximately 100 meters from the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe at 4,897 meters, around 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, local time. The bodies of two Italian hikers who had also gone missing were found alongside the deceased Koreans, Agence France-Presse reported.

The Korean victims -- a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s -- were reportedly part of a mountaineering group of seven Korean nationals visiting the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc area. On Saturday, four members of the group, including the two now deceased, set out to climb Mont Blanc but lost contact with the others.

The three members of the group who had declined to join in the climb alerted the Korean Embassy when they could not reach their companions.

Two of the four missing Korean hikers were rescued by helicopter at an altitude of 4,100 m on Sunday, after becoming stranded and unable to descend due to adverse weather conditions.