https://arab.news/vt9v8
- Sadpara, Snorri and Mohr were last seen just 300 metres short of the summit of K2, world’s second-highest mountain
- It is believed the group reached the summit but encountered a problem on the way down
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: The bodies of three climbers who went missing on the K2 winter ascent in February this year have been found, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement on Monday.
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, of Pakistan, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen just 300 meters short of the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, on February 5. It is believed the group reached the summit but encountered a problem on the way down.
“The dead bodies of Muhammad Ali Sadpara, John Snorri, Juan Pablo Mohr found near the bottleneck of K2 8611-M,” Karrar Haidri, secretary of Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement. “It is very difficult to bring the dead bodies down from the high altitude. Army Aviation is helping in this regard.”
Snorri’s body will be moved to Iceland as requested by his wife, Haidri said. The mother and sister of Mohr had already decided to bring back the body to their country, he added.
Almost a month ago, Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of Pakistan’s iconic high-altitude mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, left Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan, to find the remains of his father who went missing while attempting to scale the world’s most dangerous peak in winter.
“Sajid was at camp 3, when the Nepalese Sherpa located the dead bodies. Upon the information, Sajid went to above camp 4,” Asghar Ali Porik, expedition organizer of the search mission and head of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators, told Arab News on Monday.
“To bring the dead bodies from above the 8,000 meters is a tough job,” Porik said, adding that now the next task was to bring down the bodies as helicopter could not fly beyond 8,000 meters.
The three missing climbers were last seen by Sadpara’s son, 20-year-old Sajid, who had to turn around because of an oxygen supply malfunction. “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,” Sajid had said earlier in the year.
The search operation for the three climbers included Pakistani military helicopters flying up and down the mountain, and an F-16 plane to photograph the ground to look for clues to where they might have taken shelter. Extremely low temperatures and gusting winds make it nearly impossible to survive on K2 for more than few days.