Two of the five people who took part in an unauthorized crossing of Aoshan Mountain have been found dead, according to local authorities in Taibai county, Shaanxi province, on Tuesday.

One of the other three was found having fallen from a cliff, and rescue efforts are under way.

On Jan 3, police received a report saying that five visitors had lost contact after crossing the mountain. The police then learned that hikers had evaded the climbing monitoring outpost at around 2 am on Jan 2. On the morning of Jan 3, one left the mountain, with others still missing.

Taibai county activated emergency protocol and launched a coordinated rescue operation composed of four professional rescue teams and residents. On Jan 4, one of the trapped was rescued in good condition.

At 4:30 am on Jan 5, the county upgraded the rescue operation to a larger scale and sent helicopters to the scene. In the afternoon, two victims were found dead.

The mountain has a hazardous landscape and unpredictable weather, with some parts belonging to natural protection zones. Unauthorized crossing is strictly banned. Local authorities warned of the extreme danger in unauthorized crossing.

Qi Zichen contributed to this story.