Overview
- Argentine tourist Javier Ignacio Álvarez, 48, set out around 7:30 a.m. from Refugio Nevados de Vilcún to summit Llaima and never returned.
- Chile’s elite GOPE police rescue unit is leading the operation and using drones, including thermal cameras, to scan terrain too risky to enter on foot.
- Teams have paused and restarted ground searches as wind-driven whiteouts cut visibility, temperatures drop well below freezing, and snow hides deep cracks in the ice.
- Álvarez’s partner filed the missing-person report, and authorities shared his gear and clothing description to help spot him on the mountain.
- Llaima rises about 3,125 meters inside Parque Nacional Conguillío and is one of Chile’s most active stratovolcanoes, a profile that makes searches slow and hazardous.