3 Japanese tourists confirmed dead in snowstorm

Three Japanese tourists who went missing on a snow-covered mountain in north China's Hebei Province on Saturday have been confirmed dead, local authorities said Monday.

Rescuers retrieved the body of 76-year-old male Shunichiro Yanai on Monday afternoon on Hengling Mountain in the city of Zhangjiakou, the municipal government's press office said.

The other two tourists, two women aged 62 and 68, respectively, were previously confirmed dead.

Tour guide Ming Pingming told rescuers that he was accompanying the four tourists when they became trapped by the snowstorm.

Ming said he stayed with Shunichiro until 10 a.m. Sunday morning, when the man lost his pulse. Ming then attempted to escape the snowstorm and was saved by rescuers.

Another Japanese tourist, a 59-year-old woman, was rescued and is being treated along with Ming at a small clinic in the village of Hengling.

Attempts to send Ming and the surviving tourist to the county seat of Huailai have been thwarted, as some of the area's roads remain blocked by ice and snow.

Beijing and Hebei were hit by a blizzard over the weekend that brought record amounts of precipitation, according to the Beijing Meteorological Center.