GILGIT: A rescue operation is in full swing as the Pakistan Army works to save one missing and two injured Russian climbers stranded on Gasherbrum IV. The mission was launched after the climbers encountered severe conditions on the 7,925-meter peak.
The five-member Russian team, led by Sergei Nilov, was on a mission to retrieve the body of their colleague Dmitry Golovchenko, who perished on the mountain last year. Nilov, who had survived a tragic accident the previous summer, went missing.
The team faced a devastating avalanche, which left Mikhail Mironov and Sergei Mironov seriously injured. The remaining climbers, Bautin and Lablokov, were successfully airlifted to safety by a Pakistan Army helicopter.
The rescue efforts were delayed due to harsh weather conditions, which prevented a response until Monday. Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club, confirmed that the rescue mission was ongoing and expressed optimism for the successful recovery of the remaining climbers.
“A team consisting of four Pakistani high-altitude porters and one Russian climber is assisting with the rescue,” Haidri reported. “There was no prior government advisory about the severe weather, and the climbers were caught off guard by the avalanche.”
Each year, hundreds of climbers attempt to scale peaks in Gilgit-Baltistan, where accidents due to avalanches and sudden weather changes are unfortunately common. Recently, Murad Sadpara, renowned for his high-altitude rescue missions, died during a descent. In recent months, there have been several fatal incidents, including the deaths of at least four Japanese climbers on K2.
Earlier, two Japanese climbers who fell from K2, the world’s second-tallest mountain, have been officially declared dead, raising the number of the country’s mountaineers who died in Pakistan this year to five, a tour operator told media.
Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima, who traveled to Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region to take on the challenge of the west face of K2, using the alpine style approach, fell from a height of 7,500 meters (24,606 feet) off the 8,611-meter (28,251 ft) peak K2 on July 28.
“Their death certificates have been issued (by Pakistani authorities) to their families, who (family members) arrived in Pakistan a few days ago, and are leaving today (Wednesday),” said Naiknam Kareem, the head of Naiknam Tours that arranged the deceased climbers’ expedition.
The climbers’ bodies were spotted last week but could not be recovered due to “extremely” dangerous nature of the K2’s west face terrain, he added.Waliullah Falahi, the deputy commissioner of Shigar district of G-B, which is home to K2, however, told media that a ground operation could not be launched due to the difficult terrain.
A Pakistan army helicopter could not land to pick the mountaineers because of high altitude, he added.Hiraide, a renowned mountaineer, had won three Piolets d’Or awards, the most prestigious accolade in the field of alpinism.
