SKARDU – Two missing Japanese climbers were spotted by helicopter on Thursday in Pakistan’s mountainous north, home to some of the world’s tallest peaks. However, their condition remains unknown, a tour operator reported.
Japanese climbers Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi were attempting to summit the 7,027-meter (23,054-foot) Spantik mountain in the Karakoram range when they went missing.
“The rescuers saw the climbers and recognized them by their clothes, but they could not determine their condition,” said Naiknam Karim, the CEO of Adventure Tours Pakistan (ATP), which organized the expedition.
The climbers were spotted during a military helicopter search on Thursday, but the operation was called off due to poor weather conditions.
“There has been no communication between the two Japanese climbers and officials at base camp since they started their expedition,” Karim stated. “They were last seen on June 10 above 5,000 meters.”
The alarm was raised on Tuesday by another team of Japanese climbers who arrived at Camp 2, around 5,650 meters, where Hiraoka and Taguchi were supposed to be.
The search is scheduled to resume on Friday.
“An 8-member rescue team, including five Japanese climbers, will ascend on foot to search for them,” Karim added.
Hiraoka and Taguchi reached base camp on June 3 and were attempting the climb without the help of porters.
Spantik, also known as the Golden Peak, is described as a “relatively accessible and straightforward peak” by another tourist company, Adventure Tours.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains higher than 8,000 meters, including K2, the world’s second-highest peak.
According to official government figures, more than 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2023, where the summer climbing season runs from early June to late August.
