Two Japanese climbers went missing while attempting to scale K2, the world’s second-highest mountain at 8,611 meters, on Saturday morning.
Shigar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Waliullah Falahi said that Japanese climbers Kazuya Hirade and Kenro Nakajima fell from a height of 7,500 meters on the western side of K2.
He stated that Pakistan Army helicopters conducted a search operation in the area, with two military helicopters flying from Skardu to search for the climbers at the peak.
The helicopters spotted the fallen climbers below the 100-meter mark, but there was no observed movement from the men.
The DC mentioned that the helicopters could not land or hover at that altitude, so 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 (8,051 meters) on Saturday morning during a brief window of good weather.
During summit attempts at K2 and Gasherbrum-I, climbers reached a decisive stage days before the end of the climbing season in the Karakoram range, aiming to reach the summits on Sunday.
This year, over 2,000 local and foreign mountaineers are attempting to scale mountains in Gilgit-Baltistan, including the eight-thousanders 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, including 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 7:15 am today.
“We are excited to announce that Team Karakoram 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.
