Six people have died climbing the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano in far eastern Russia and six others are believed to be trapped on Sunday after strong winds halted a search and rescue operation.
The group of twelve people, which includes two guides, set out to climb the 4,754-meter volcano on Tuesday, but ran into trouble on Saturday when several of the group died at an altitude of almost 4,200 meters, authorities say.
Rescue teams tried to reach them on Sunday but were forced to turn back after strong winds prevented their helicopter from landing.
Temperatures on the mountain can reach minus 14 degrees Celsius at night. Tatyana Yukhmanova, a representative from the local civil protection authority, said rescue teams would try to reach the group again tomorrow if weather conditions allowed.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the tallest of over 160 volcanoes whose snowy peaks rise above Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage area.
