Skardu: Muhammad Ali Sadpara, two foreign climbers were officially declared dead on Thursday in a press conference attended by the families of the climbers in Skardu.
The other two foreign climbers were cIceland’s John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto.
Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan and Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sadpara, were also present at the briefing.
The three climbers were last seen on Feb 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3.
Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers, though the efforts continued.
A Feb 14 update on the search mission said that the “leads — taken after scrutinising satellite images, using SAR technology and checking testimonials and timings — turned out to be a sleeping bag, torn tents or sleeping pads, none of which belong to these climbers.”
“The overwhelming love and support for the ‘national hero Ali Sadpara’ has given immense strength to me, my sister, brothers, and my mother. My family and I have lost a kindhearted person and the Pakistani nation has lost a brave and great adventurous individual who was passionate about climbing,” an emotional Sajid said.
Stressing that the outpour of love from Pakistanis offered his family great support in a tragic time, Sajid said that he will follow his father’s footsteps and continue to climb.
Citing experienced climbers, Sajid said he believed his father and the other two mountaineers made it to the summit of K2, but met with an accident on their way down. He was with them but unfortunately, he had to descend because he felt unwell and his oxygen equipment had issues.
“All three were strong mountaineers — willing, able and with the courage to make history by standing on top of K2 in winter conditions. Based on the last known contact by John Snorri’s telephone, we are confident that all three men made it to the top of K2 and something happened on the descent,” a representative said, reading a statement on behalf of the families of foreign climbers.
