Officials: veteran climber Humar dies in Himalayas

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — A veteran Slovenian climber was found dead in the Himalayas on Saturday, days after he was injured and stranded on a 23,710-foot mountain, a mountain rescue company and a close friend said.

Gerold Biner, flight operations manager for the Swiss Air Zermatt company, said that Tomaz Humar's body was recovered early Saturday by a three-man rescue team.

"They called me ... to tell me the rescue mission was over," Biner said.

Humar, 40, last contacted his base on Monday to say that he was injured while climbing Langtang Lirung.

Viki Groselj, a fellow Slovenian mountaineer and a good friend of Humar, told The Associated Press that Humar had broken his leg and become stranded.

Rescuers in Katmandu said that Sherpa guides had trekked the snowy slopes where Humar was supposed to be but could not find him earlier in the week.

Heavy snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday also forced climbers to postpone searches because of increased avalanche risk.

Humar was climbing a difficult route up Langtang Lirung, which made rescue efforts even more difficult.

Biner said the team "spotted him quite quickly" on Saturday.

"He was lower than expected, at 5,600 meters not 6,300 meters," he added.

Humar, who was married with two children, had climbed many mountains around the world.

In 2005, he was trapped in the Himalayas on an icy ledge of Nanga Parbat mountain at about 19,685 feet during a solo climb. Two Pakistani army helicopter pilots eventually saved him and were later decorated with Slovenia's highest award for bravery.

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Geneva contributed to this report.