2 climbers from Japan fall from K2 mountain in northern Pakistan
Date
7/28/2024 9:42:02 AM
(MENAFN) Pakistani authorities have initiated renewed rescue efforts to save two Japanese climbers who fell from K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, on Saturday in northern Pakistan. A mountaineering official from the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri, informed a Turkish news agency on Sunday that a Pakistan army helicopter was unable to land to retrieve the mountaineers due to the high altitude.
Waliullah Falahi, the deputy commissioner of Shigar district in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which encompasses K2, confirmed to Anadolu that no ground operation had yet been launched, though he did not specify the reasons behind the delay. The two climbers, Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima, had traveled to Pakistan to ascend the west face of K2 using the alpine style approach. They fell from a height of 7,500 meters (24,606 feet) off the 8,611-meter (28,251 feet) peak, according to Haidri.
Haidri stated that the condition of the climbers is still unknown, making it difficult to make any predictions about their status at this stage. The Japanese Embassy in Islamabad also reported that the climbers' condition remains "currently unknown."
The situation underscores the perilous nature of high-altitude mountaineering and the complexities involved in conducting rescue operations in such extreme environments. The rescue attempts are ongoing as authorities continue to navigate the challenging conditions to locate and assist the climbers.
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