Pakistani authorities say volunteers have recovered the body of a Japanese climber who died while descending from one of the country’s highest mountains.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A group of Pakistani volunteers have recovered the body of a Japanese climber who died while descending from one of the country’s highest mountains, authorities said Tuesday.
The body of 64-year-old Hiroshi Onishi was removed the previous day from the 7,027-meter (23,054-foot) Spantik Peak, also known as the Golden Peak, where he died, local police chief Mohammed Hanif told The Associated Press by phone.
He became the third Japanese climber to die in Pakistan within a month.
According to police, Onishi, along with other Japanese climbers, was on his way down from the summit when he slipped and fell into a crevasse and died.
Local official Javed Ali Munwa said Oonishi’s body was being transported in an ambulance to Islamabad, and his family is expected to arrive in Pakistan later this week.
Bad weather prevented helicopters from reaching Spantik, so a team of six volunteers, led by Pakistani climber Abbas Ali, took on the risky task of retrieving the body, Munwa said. It took six days of arduous work to find the body and bring it down, he added.
Hiroshi’s death follows that of two other Japanese climbers, Atsushi Taguchi and Ryuseki Hiraoka, who died while attempting to summit the same mountain. The two went missing on June 13, and Hiraoka’s body was found two days after the incident.
After a week-long search that ended in failure, his colleague was presumed dead – both had fallen into a deep crevasse.
Golden Peak is known for its unique golden glow at sunrise and sunset, making it a popular destination for climbers.
Every year, hundreds of climbers attempt to summit mountains in northern Pakistan, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, and several lose their lives.
