Romanian mountain climber Eduard Briceag died on the Rainier mountain, near Seattle (Washington state), because of an out-of-the-blue blizzard, The News Tribune informs. 31-year old Eduard Burceag tried to save his wife, Mariana, and his friend, Daniel Vlad. All three were experienced climbers, but did not carry the necessary equipment for such severe weather conditions.

The News Tribune article:

The hikers dug a trench to escape the snow and 55 mph winds, and Burceag lay in the bottom with his wife, Mariana, 31, and friend, Daniel Vlad, 34, on top of him, incident commander David Gottlieb said.

In this position, he would have taken the brunt of the punishment, Gottlieb said. When his friend and wife tried to rotate positions with him, he refused, Gottlieb said.

The three, who were natives of Romania, were experienced climbers. Eduard Burceag and Vlad both worked as engineers.

A helicopter from the Fort Lewis-based 159th Aviation Regiment of the Army Reserve lifted the survivors off the mountain from Camp Muir at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday. Climbing rangers carried Burceag’s body off the mountain in the afternoon.

Mariana Burceag and Vlad were flown to Madigan Army Medical Center then transported by ambulance to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. They were treated and released by 1 p.m. said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson. They will have a follow-up examination in the coming weeks.

Eduard Burceag’s body was off the mountain by 5:30 p.m. and taken to the Pierce County Medical Examiner, Gottlieb said.

The hikers were attempting to descend from Camp Muir at 10,188 feet to their car at Paradise, 5,400 feet above sea level, Monday when they were surprised by the storm. Gottlieb said the hikers were well prepared for their hike, but did not have gear for spending the night in