Pakistani climber dies on K2 expedition

A Pakistani mountaineer has died after an avalanche struck near Camp 1 on K2, Pakistan’s highest peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the mountaineering club, the avalanche, which occurred at around 2:30pm on Friday, swept four climbers during their ascent. 

Two climbers made it back safely to base camp, while a foreign climber sustained minor injuries.

However, Iftikhar Hussain Sadpara, a climber from Skardu, lost his life in the incident. His body was recovered and brought back to base camp shortly after the incident, read the statement. 

The Pakistan Army deployed a helicopter to transport the deceased’s body from base camp to Skardu, where he will be laid to rest in his native village.

President ACP Major General Irfan Arshad expressed his condolences to the bereaved family, friends, and fellow mountaineers. He assured the family of full support and called the loss a profound tragedy for Pakistan’s climbing community.

Senior Vice President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri, also expressed grief over the loss and paid tribute to Iftikhar Hussain’s commitment and contributions to the sport of mountaineering.

Adventurous climbers consider Pakistan a significant mountainous location as the country hosts five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 meters — thus eight-thousanders. However, some mountaineers in their challenging endeavours face dire situations and sometimes even death.

Earlier in 2021, well-known Pakistani climber Mohammad Ali Sadpara and two others went missing when they attempted to scale the K2 mountain.

They were then officially declared dead by the authorities. Notably, Sadpara is the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the world's 14 highest mountains.

K2 is located around 10 kilometres north of Gasherbrum IV in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, where the Karakoram mountain range is located. It is one of the deadliest mountains in the world as many climbers have lost their lives trying to reach its peak.