Two Japanese climbers are missing in northern Pakistan’s mountain range, which is home to some of the world’s highest peaks, a tour operator said on Thursday.
Japanese climbers Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi were attempting to summit the 7,027-metre (23,054-foot) Mount Spantik in the Karakoram range before they went missing.
“There was no communication between the two Japanese climbers and the base camp officials since the start of the expedition,” Naiknam Karim, CEO of Adventure Tours Pakistan (ATP), which organised the expedition, told AFP.
“They were last seen on June 10 at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres.”
The alarm was raised on Tuesday after another Japanese climber team reached Camp 2, about 5,650 metres above sea level, where Hiraoka and Taguchi had planned to stay.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
A military helicopter search on Thursday was called off due to bad weather.
The search is expected to resume on Friday.
“A rescue team of eight people, including five Japanese climbers, will ascend on foot to the summit and conduct the search,” Karim added.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
The pair reached base camp on June 3 and attempted the climb without the help of porters.
Mount Spantik, also known as Golden Peak, is described on the website of another travel company, Adventure Tours, as “a relatively accessible and easy mountain to climb”.
The country is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains over 8,000 metres, including K2, the second highest in the world.
Advertisement – Scroll to continue
More than 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan province, where the summer climbing season runs from early June to late August, in 2023, according to official government figures.
na-stm/ecl/ssy
