A pair of hikers who disappeared on a mountain walk froze to death after astonishingly surviving a 1,000-foot plunge down a mountain ravine, it has emerged.

Roberto Meo Colombo, 53, and Fabrizia De Lio, 38, had been missing for two days after setting off for a trek from the Italian alpine village Bagni di Vinadio on 3rd December.

Worried family members called emergency services when they could not reach the couple on their mobile phones.

Mountain rescue teams were forced to call off the first search because of bad weather, reports local media.

Their bodies were only found on 5th December after rescuers in a helicopter used a special Imsi Catcher scanner to locate their mobile phone signals.

The pair were found dead 300 metres (984 feet) down in the San Bernolfo Valley.

Experts believe they survived the fall but then froze to death when mountain temperatures plunged overnight, reports local media.

Colombo’s mobile phone was reportedly found near his outstretched hand as if he’d been trying to call for help.

His former bosses at Confindustria Cuneo said: “Our deepest condolences go to the family.”

The couple will be buried on 9th December.