Pakistan officials declare missing K2 mountain climbers dead reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani officials said three climbers missing on the K2 mountain had died, calling off an extraordinary rescue mission that had involved the military and international mountaineers since the group lost contact on Feb. 5.
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, of Pakistan, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen just 300 metres short of the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. It is believed the group reached the summit but encountered a problem on the way down.
“So far we were searching and hoping to find them alive, but today we have officially declared them dead, so that will stop,” Raja Nasir Ali Khan, minister of Minister for Tourism for Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region where the climbers went missing. The search for the bodies of the climbers will continue, Khan said.
Pakistan officials declare missing K2 mountain climbers dead msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
February 09, 2021
published at 1:02 AMReuters
A handout photo. Mohammad Ali Sadpara (L) poses for a photo with a member of Alpine Club of Pakistan in Islamabad, Pakistan on Feb 8, 2021.
Reuters via Alpine Club of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani military helicopters continued to search for three missing climbers on the world’s second highest mountain K2 on Monday, as hope of their survival faded rapidly.
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, of Pakistan, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen Friday around noon at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300 metres shy of the 8,611 metre (28,251 ft) high K2.
K2 has the highest fatality rate, with one in four climbers losing their lives.
Speaking from base camp on Saturday afternoon, Noel said: The climb is over. There will be no summit. One Bulgarian climber fell to his death on Friday just in front of me and three are still missing - one from our team and two from another. But some of us are now back safely at base camp. The weather got so cold. It s known as a Savage/Killer mountain in the climbing world.
Last month a team of 10 Nepali climbers set a new world record by becoming the first to reach the summit of K2 in winter.