KATHMANDU: Rescuers who recovered the bodies of two Japanese climbers from Gangapurna peak in western Nepal said the alpinists may have fallen some 900m from just below the regular summit point of the mountain.

Renowned IFMGA/NNMGA climber Pasang Rinzee Sherpa, who recovered the bodies of the climbers from around 6,200m on the south side of Gangapurna peak, said that both climbers had attempted to scale Gangapurna via its normal route.

"It was found that they set up at least six camps on the regular northern side of Gangapurna and reached just some 150m below the summit point," said Sherpa, who, along with Altitude Air senior captain Sobit Gauchan and drone specialist Manish Maharjan, struggled for five days to recover the bodies.

Japanese climbers Hidenori Taneishi, 40, and Satoshi Hashimoto, 25, who had been missing since October 15, were found dead during an aerial and ground searches on October 23.

They attempted the 7,455-metre mountain from the northern side, but not Gangapurna West as initially planned, Sherpa said, analysing the drone footage. The duo, however, had obtained a permit from the Department of Tourism to attempt to climb the 7,140-metre Gangapurna West for the first time in alpine style.

It seemed that they abandoned their summit push from just 150m below the summit point and began their descent due to weather conditions. "The footage shows that they fell more than 900m from around 7,100m from the mountain ridge after an ice slab collapsed," he added.

The bodies of both climbers were recovered from around 6,250m after the search team first spotted their bags and trekking poles at the incident site. "Captain Sobit collected the retrieved bodies with an Altitude Air helicopter from around 6,100m after the rescuers, with the help of local mountain workers, recovered them," Sherpa added.

Vijay Sharma, Chairman of Cosmo Adventure, said both bodies had already been transported by helicopter to Kathmandu and were now kept at TU Teaching Hospital.

Family members who were informed about the incident would arrive in Kathmandu from Japan to receive the bodies, according to the expedition organiser.