The bodies of three climbers who are believed to be half of the victims of a climbing accident earlier this year were removed Tuesday from Mount Rainier. The bodies were found in the Carbon Glacie area below Liberty Ridge, where a search for six missing climbers in the spring was focused. While they are believed to be part of that group, positive identification of the bodies must still be made by the Pierce County medical examiner, a Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman said. The bodies were spotted on Aug. 7 during a training flight in the area. Recent warm weather melted some of the ice and snow in the location, exposing the bodies. Park personnel, working with a crew from Northwest Helicopters, removed the body amid highly dangerous conditions, officials said. They said rock and ice fall off Willis Wall, and an increase in new crevasses in Carbon Glacier, make it one of the most hazardous locations on the mountain. It's believed that ice fall or an avalanche swept the climbers to their deaths and buried them on or about May 29. Initial searches only found some of their gear above a debris field. A Northwest Helicopters MD-530, using a remote-controlled Heli-Tech grabber device mounted from a 100-foot line, and eight park rangers participated in the retrieval operation. No signs of the other missing climbers were seen, officials said.
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