Two top Japanese climbers fell from K2 in Pakistan. Despite the extremely dangerous conditions, the athletes chose a climbing style that emphasized speed and used only a few fixed ropes.
Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima were attempting to climb the rugged west face of the world’s second-highest mountain at 8,611 metres (28,000 feet) when they tragically fell at an altitude of 7,500 metres (24,500 feet) on Saturday, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) mountaineering and sports climbing association said.
“A rescue attempt was made with a helicopter but it could not land,” Shigar district deputy commissioner Wali Ullah Falahi told AFP on Sunday. The two men were spotted but did not move. They have not yet been declared dead.
The rescue helicopter had to cancel its mission
The altitude and steep slope forced the rescue helicopter to abort the landing, explained Japanese sports equipment manufacturer Ishii Sports, which is sponsoring the two climbers. “The pilot said the two men could be seen, but their status was unclear,” the report said. “We are currently assessing how to rescue them.”
Rescue attempts are extremely risky, even on the southeastern ridge, where most climbers ascend to the K2 summit. The western side is steeper and has only been successfully climbed once, by a Russian team in 2007.
According to ACP, Hiraide and Nakajima had carefully planned and trained for their expedition. Both were athletes who had won several major mountaineering awards, it was said.
Several fatalities this season already
Three other Japanese climbers have already died in Pakistan this summer season — all on the 7,027-meter-high Spantik mountain, which, like K2, is in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains that are over 8,000 meters high.
Source: Krone
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