The two became separated on their descent towards the highest camp at 7,600 metres. Fellow expedition members lost contact with the two on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile an avalanche swept away a lower camp, killing a South Korean and a Bangladeshi climber.

“Practically there is no hope for the two Hungarians to still be alive,” said expedition spokesman Szabolcs Vincze.

He said it is a near certainty that Erõss and Kiss had spent the night in the open air in -38C temperatures. Sherpas sent to their rescue could not find them.

Erõss, 45, had his right leg amputated in January 2010 following an open fracture in an accident while climbing Slovakia’s High Tatra mountains.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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