The U.S. National Park Service on Thursday suspended an aerial search for two Japanese climbers missing on Mount McKinley, concluding it is unlikely they are still alive.

Searchers flew 33 hours at high and low altitudes looking for Tatsuro Yamada, 27, and Yuto Inoue, 24, on North America's tallest mountain.

Mountaineering rangers will continue to seek clues as to their location by reviewing high resolution photos taken during the search. The men were due back from a climb on May 22.

Cloudy or windy weather kept aircraft grounded the next day. Searchers flew from Saturday through Tuesday.