Rescue operation begins for three stranded mountaineers

ISLAMABAD: Helicopters to rescue three mountaineers, including a Pakistani, from the Rakaposhi Mountain of the Karakoram Range arrived in Hunza on Sunday and an operation to bring them back has begun.

According to Deputy Commissioner Nagar Zulqarnain Khan, the helicopter arrived in Nagar for rescue operations to bring back the mountaineers. Among them is Pakistani climber Wajidullah Nagri, and Czech Republic mountaineers, reported Geo TV. He said that the rescue team is in touch with the climbers, who are doing fine.

The DC added that it will be difficult for a helicopter to ascend to a height of 6,900 metres, where the climbers had been stranded, so they have been asked to descend. Rescue efforts on the ground are also underway, he said. The three mountaineers, two of whom belong to the Czech Republic, had submitted Rakaposhi on September 8, according to the Karakoram Club. The Club said in a post today that the aerial rescue mission has begun and is being led by Abdul Joshi. A tweet by Pamir Times at 7pm said that the rescue operation was put off for the day due to bad weather and will resume tomorrow morning.