At 20:30 on Wednesday, the 112 Asturias Emergency Services informed the Gijón Command's Operational Service Centre that 11 people were trapped near Picu Urriellu.
The Greim de Cangas de Onís and the SEPA Rescue group travelled to the Collado Vallejo-Cabrales area to rescue them.
The hikers had reportedly planned to go from Bulnes to the Picu Urriellu refuge and end their journey in Pandebano where 3 vehicles were waiting to take them to their hotel.
But heavy snow made the route much more complicated, they got trapped by several avalanches and were apparently not equipped for such a dangerous journey.
At 22:00 the rescue team began the ascent to where the hikers were trapped and established visual contact an hour later.
The rescue team were faced with several avalanches, which had turned to ice due to the low temperatures, making the trajectory extremely dangerous and they had to use crampons, ice axes and ropes to get through the most dangerous areas and reach the group.
They then harnessed the hikers to a lifeline and made their way through the danger zones one by one until they reached safety.
At around 02:30 they began their descent and finally reached Pandébano at 03:30.
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