BEIJING - RESCURERS were searching on Thursday for four Hungarian climbers missing in the mountains of southwestern China near where two Russians were buried in an avalanche eight days ago, officials said.

The two men and two women were due to return to base camp in late October after climbing the 6,079-metre (20,060-feet) high Renzhong Mountain in Sichuan province, Lin Li, head of the Sichuan Mountaineering Association, told AFP.

But Mr Lin said emergency rescue efforts were launched when they failed to turn up. 'On November 4, the rescuers reached 4,400 metres, but they did not find the missing people, although they saw some signs of avalanches and icefalls - the rescuers are continuing to search for them,' he said.

Peter Sarkozy, the Hungarian consul general, told AFP the four were professional mountaineers. 'The relatives back in Hungary are worried and we are in permanent contact with them,' he said.

This is the second time in less than a week that climbers have gone missing in the same area of western Sichuan, home to a number of mountains that attract climbers from around the world.

On October 28, four Russians were caught in an avalanche on Four Girls Mountain in Aba county. Two survived but the others, a couple, were buried and are presumed dead. -- AFP