Cristina Calvillo Tovar, 37, and Julian Garcia Pimentel, 36 — Nadine Lichey, 45, and Andreas von Pein, 52 — and Victoria Bond, 40.
Could these deaths have been avoided?
… On November 16, the weather was mild, and the usual number of hikers, 40 or 50, crossed the pass without incident. By that evening, those who would suffer the worst of the storm had converged at Los Perros campsite, the last sheltered refuge before the exposed John Garner Pass. …
On November 17 between 5 to 7 am, about 30 hikers left Los Perros for John Garner Pass.
Conditions started drizzly, but deteriorated rapidly after 10 am. Winds reached 193kph, and visibility dropped to less than three meters. The temperature fell to −5 °C, but the wind chill was far below -20°C. …
Those who turned back barely made it down safely. …
A distress post appeared on the Torres del Paine Facebook group around 2 to 3 pm. Initial response by CONAF was slow, and bad weather grounded the helicopters. …
Twenty-seven hikers required medical attention, according to the final tally released by the Regional Government of Magallanes on November 20. …
The Torres del Paine Tragedy: What Really Happened
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