BEIJING, China - Searchers on a peak in southwest China Monday found the body of a second American climber who disappeared in an avalanche last month, state press reported.

The identity of the missing climber was not immediately released, but his body was found about 300 metres (990 feet) from where searchers found the body of Jonathan Copp, 35, on Saturday, Xinhua news agency said.

The search for a third climber was ongoing, it added.

The three American climbers had sought to climb the 6,400 metre (21,120 foot) Edgar peak of Mount Gongga in May, but they failed to return as scheduled prompting a search that began on June 3, the report said.

The report identified the other two climbers as Micah Dash, 32, and Wade Johnson, 25.

"They disappeared after a series of avalanches on the mountain," Xinhua quoted Li Zhixin, of the Chinese Mountaineering Association, as saying.

Strong winds and snow were hampering the ongoing search that was being carried out at about the 4,000 metre level of the mountain, where the two climbers were found, it said.

At 7,556 metres, Mount Gongga is the highest in Sichuan province.