Islamabad: A Pakistani army helicopter rescued two Russians while one is missing after their team was hit by a pile of ice on a treacherous peak in the country's north, an official said Monday. Shigar Deputy Commissioner Waliullah Falahi told Dawn that five Russian climbers Sergei Nilov, Mikhail Mironov, Alexy Bautin, Sergei Mironov and Evgenii Lablokov had started their mission to ascend the peak on August 4.
On Saturday, a snow avalanche hit the climbers in the morning at a height of 6,400 metres. Sergei Nilov went missing while Mikhail Mironov and Sergei Mironov were injured. Alexy Bautin and Evgeni Lablokov remained unhurt and were later rescued by the army and airlifted to Skardu, according to Pakistani media.
One of them is in touch through satellite phone
The official claimed that Sergei Nilov lost his life whereas Mikhail Mironov and Sergei Mironov were injured, adding that he was in touch with his colleagues through satellite phone.
Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said a rescue mission was underway to safely bring down two more climbers who were part of the five-member Russian team stranded on Gasherbrum peak in the Karakoram range after the ice formation hit their team. "Unfortunately, the expedition encountered a devastating disaster. As the team ascended the mountain, an ice formation, possibly a serac, collapsed, unleashing a catastrophic event," Haidri said. He said the rescue mission was launched on Saturday after the ice hit the climbers, who were on a mission to retrieve the body of a climber lost on the same mountain in 2023.
"No govt advisory for bad weather"
He said there was no government advisory about bad weather and the climbers faced the disaster suddenly after the mass of ice fell on them.
It is worth mentioning that hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year, and such accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. Last week, a Pakistani climber Murad Sadpara, 35, known for taking part in high-altitude rescue missions, died during a descent from one of the country's tallest mountains in the north.
(With inputs from agency)
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