Two Japanese climbers went missing while attempting to scale the 8,611-metre-tall K2 peak, the second-highest mountain in the world, on Saturday morning.
Shigar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Waliullah Falahi told Dawn.com that Japanese climbers Kazuya Hirade and Kenro Nakajima fell down from a height of 7,500m, west of K2.
He said Pakistan Army helicopters conducted a search operation in the area, adding that two military helicopters flew from Skardu and searched for the climbers at the peak.
He said they spotted the fallen climbers below the 100m mark but it was observed that the men had no movement.
The DC said the helicopters could not land or hover at the altitude, adding that a ground rescue team would be prepared to retrieve the two men.
He said it was not known if either of them was alive or dead.
Meanwhile, 12 Pakistanis, one Russian and two Nepalese climbers summited Broad Peak (8,051m) on Saturday morning in a short window with good weather.
During summit pushes at K2 and Gasherbrum-I, climbers reached a decisive stage days before the end of climbing season at the Karakoram range, aiming to reach the summits on Sunday.
More than 2,000 local and foreign mountaineers are attempting to scale mountains in Gilgit-Baltistan this year, including eight-thousanders (mountains exceeding 8,000m in height) K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II and Nanga Parbat.
According to Karakoram Expeditions, led by renowned climber Mirza Ali, nine members of the expedition Ahmed Baig, Arshad Karim, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali, Daulat Muhammad, Afreen Shah, Zaman Karim from Shimshal Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, Murad Ali from Balochistan and Iya Pershina from Russia summited Broad peak at 7:15am today.
“We are excited to announce that Team Karakorum Expeditions has successfully summited Broad Peak and fixed ropes all the way to the summit this morning! Braving waist-deep snow, our team worked tirelessly through challenging conditions all night long,” the company posted on its Facebook page.
The post adds that the team departed from Camp 2 at 5:30am and continued from Camp 3 at 11am, “ploughing through deep snow and navigating new exposed crevasses”.
Mirza, whose sister is renowned mountaineer Samina Baig, expressed his pride: “I am overjoyed by the courage and tenacity of my team. Their ability to navigate through waist-deep snow and install fixed ropes all the way to the summit exemplifies the spirit of mountaineering.”
Another four-member expedition from the Pakistani Broadboy Adventures team, led by Shehroze Kashif — the youngest Pakistani climber to summit K2 — successfully scaled Broad Peak at 11:30am, raising the green flag high.
In a statement, Kashif said the challenging expedition had a narrow window but was worth every effort.
The summiteers included Aamar Butt, a resident of the USA; Anum Uzair from Lahore and Ali Akbar and Ali, both from GB’s Houshe.
“We are eagerly waiting and praying for their safe descent to Basecamp,” Kashif added.
Meanwhile, Sunu Sherpa from Nepal set a world record for climbing the peak a third time with Summit Karakoram.
Summit Karakoram CEO Iqbal Qadri told Dawn that Sunu was climbing in Alpine style. Sunu has summited the world’s 14 eight-thousanders twice.
“Sunu Sherpa now attempting to scale 14 eight-thousanders for the third time, he is going to set a world record,” he said.
He congratulated Sunu on successfully climbing Broad Peak. “Your determination, skill, and perseverance have paid off, and this achievement is a testament to your exceptional mountaineering abilities. Well done!” he said.
Imagine Nepal expedition member Pasang Namgyal Sherpa also conquered Broad Peak on Saturday morning.
A statement from the organiser read, “Our esteemed senior climbing guide, Pasang Namgyal Sherpa, has successfully summited Broad Peak this morning, on Saturday.
“We are profoundly proud of his extraordinary feats and eagerly anticipate his future pursuits in high-altitude climbing. Heartiest congratulations, Pasang Namgyal Sherpa, on this historic triumph!” the post concluded
Climbers waited at K2 base camp for good weather for one month, before pushing for the summit on Friday.
On Saturday, the foreign and local climbers were able to reach Camp 4. Mingma G, the owner of Imagine Nepal and one of the climbers, said on Facebook that a rope-fixing team was at work to help the expedition reach the summit.
“We didn’t expect this much snow on K2 this time after weeks and weeks of high wind. I am another Instagram finger activists reporting from camp3,” Mingma wrote.
“Hopefully write here again from K2 summit tomorrow morning.”
