Alicja Otap
Sebastian Kinasiewicz, a 32-year-old Polish soldier reported missing on Tuesday, has been confirmed dead after trying to scale Mount Hood in Oregon, north western United States.
According to Hood County Sheriffs Office, Sebastian Kinasiewicz's body was spotted from a US army helicopter at about 10.30 am local time on Tuesday.
Local authorities estimate that the man fell over 450 meters to his death. The soldier's body has not been retrieved yet, owing to treacherous conditions.
Warrant Officer Kinasiewicz, who had been in the US as part of a training program in neighboring Washington state, had last been seen at 8 am on Sunday.
His room-mate reported him missing when he failed to reappear that evening. A search throughout Monday failed to reveal the location of the soldier.
Peter Hughes, a spokesman for the Sheriffs Office in Hood County, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that each year there are several fatalities on the mountain, which rises to over 3400 meters above sea level.
“Climbing is especially dangerous at this time of year,” he said.
Kinasiewicz had been involved in a program led by Insitu, an American company that makes drones.
It has been a bleak year for both professional and amateur mountaineers. Two noted climbers, Maciej Berbeka and Tomasz Kowalski, died on Broad Peak on the Pakistani-Chinese border in March.
The same month, another Pole, Pawel Gostinski, died while climbing Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in the Caucasus. In July, leading mountaineer Artur Hajzer fell to his death while on Mount Gasherbrum on the Pakistani-Chinese border.
(nh/pg)
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