A British tourist was one of the five people who died when tragedy struck at a popular holiday hotspot on Monday. Local officials confirmed on the afternoon on Tuesday, November 18, that five bodies had been found in Torres del Paine national park in Chile.
The presidential delegate of Magallanes, José Antonio Ruiz, confirmed that the individuals who were found include two Mexican nationals (one female and one male), two German nationals (one female and one male), and one British national, a female. He said: “We are in the process of evacuation and consular procedures, due to the nationality of these people.” The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it was in contact with Chilean authorities. A spokesperson told The Sun:“We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Chile.”
The delegate explained that arrangements are being made to evacuate the bodies by air. The operation will depend on weather conditions to ensure that the Air Force helicopter can safely carry out the task. He added that “for people who don’t know the national park, it’s a very large area in hectares, quite difficult to access by car or truck.”
The authority stressed that the decision to close the Paine massif was made specifically for the area where access to the National Park is located.
According to local media reports, concerns were initially raised after a post appeared in the Facebook group “Torres del Paine, Chile.” In the message, a tourist issued an urgent SOS, warning that visitors had become trapped on the popular Paine Massif Circuit. The alert, sent at 8:30 p.m. the previous evening, explained that the group was stranded on the demanding “O” Circuit due to extreme weather conditions.
It read: “We are at Los Perros camp in the Torres del Paine. People were climbing the John Gardner earlier today and the weather has turned very bad. We are snowed in and people are still out on the pass.
“Very strong wind > 120 mph. They left at 6am this morning. We have sent out 20-25 people to rescue people who are still missing. We believe there are at least 5 people who have not been found, one is being rescued now but she is very unresponsive.
“They are on the side between Los Perros and the top of the pass.”
Torres del Paine National Park, located in Chile’s Magallanes Region about 112 kilometers north of Puerto Natales, is celebrated as one of the country’s most iconic destinations.
Established in 1959, the park spans 181,414 hectares (448,280 acres) and showcases the dramatic landscapes of southern Patagonia, including mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers. At its heart lies the Cordillera del Paine, a striking mountain range dominated by the granite towers known as the Torres del Paine, which lend the park its name and global recognition.
