ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Japanese climber died and a fellow mountaineer was injured when an apparent rock fragment hit them while trying to scale one of the highest peaks in northern Pakistan, a mountaineering official and the injured climber said Tuesday.
The two mountaineers from Japan were taking part in a climbing expedition organized by a local tour operator, said Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
He said the purpose of the expedition was to summit a never-before scaled peak in the Andaq Valley in the country’s north. Haidri said that while ascending the mountain Friday, Shinji Tamura slipped and fell at an altitude of 5,380 meters (17,650 feet).
Haidri told The Associated Press that the man's colleague, Semba Takayasu, was injured when he was hit by something, presumably a piece of rock. However, he said Takayasu later safely managed to reach the base camp to seek help from local authorities.
Haidri said a search team was quickly sent to the area where the climber slipped, but rescuers failed to find Tamura until Monday when the operation was called off, declaring the death of the Japanese climber.
“We have been informed by local authorities that the Japanese fell from a great height into the rocks and there were piles of snow and apparently he was buried there. Some of his belongings were found but there is no trace of his body,” Haidri said. “There is no chance of survival in such incidents, and the injured Japanese Semba Takayasu had also seen him falling from a great height, and rescuers went to the area for the search.”
Local authorities in the region also confirmed the death of the Japanese climber.
According to Takayasu, Tamura was seriously injured when he slipped and fell after being hit by something, apparently a piece of rock, which seriously injured him. Takayasu said he was also injured but managed to reach the base camp, from where rescuers launched the operation.
He told an AP reporter the body of Tamura could not be found after days of searching.
Tamura said he was rescued from the base camp by a helicopter and later arrived at Skardu, the main town in northern Pakistan, which is known as the gateway to K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
Every year, hundreds of local and foreign climbers visit northern Pakistan, where some of the world's tallest mountains are located.
Pakistani authorities said Saturday they were conducting an investigation into the death of a Pakistani porter near the peak of K2, the world’s most treacherous mountain.
