BELLEVUE, Wash. — Three rock climbers died over the weekend in the North Cascades after an apparent equipment failure caused them to fall approximately 400 feet while rappelling on nearly vertical terrain.
The victims have been identified as Alex Martynenko, 36, of Bellevue, Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, of Renton, and Tim Nguyen, 63, of Renton.
The accident occurred on Saturday, May 10, in Okanogan County when an anchor reportedly broke during their descent. A fourth climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, of Seattle, survived the fall and managed to make his way to safety and alert authorities despite his injuries…