LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), Nov 14 A veteran Slovenian climber was found dead in the Himalayas on Saturday days after he was injured and stranded on a 23,710-foot mountain, a mountain rescue company and a close friend said.

Gerold Biner, flight operations manager for the respected Swiss Air Zermatt company, said that Tomaz Humar's body was recovered early on Saturday. “They called me ... to tell me the rescue mission was over,” Biner said.

Humar, 40, last contacted his base on Monday to say that he was injured while climbing Langtang Lirung.

Viki Groselj, a fellow Slovenian mountaineer and a good friend of Humar, said that Humar had broken his leg and become stranded.

Rescuers in Katmandu said that searches by air and on foot on Tuesday and Wednesday gave no results.

Biner said the rescue team spotted him quite quickly on Saturday. “He was lower than expected, at 5,600 meters not 6,300 meters,” he added. It was not immediately clear when Humar died. Groselj said he had probably died on Monday or Tuesday.—AP/AFP