More than 45 hours have elapsed since Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s JP Mohr went missing, the Alpine Club of Pakistan and the manager of the expedition, Chhang Dawa Sherpa have confirmed. A rescue operation initiated on Saturday was also unsuccessful with Pakistan Army helicopters returning to Skardu without any information of the three mountaineers who were attempting to summit K2 in the winters.
According to reports, Sadpara, Snorri and Prieto have been missing since Friday, though news of their summit of K2 had flooded social and mainstream media Friday night. It has not yet been confirmed whether the mountaineers have summited K2.
A rescue operation was started approximately 24 hours after the climbers lost communication with Army helicopters trying to locate them. The helicopters managed to reach 7000 metres but had to return due to the winds and worsening weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Sajid Sadpara, the fourth mountaineer on the expedition and Ali’s son, who had begun an earlier descent due to the malfunctioning of his oxygen regulator was escorted to base from Camp 3 by a team of Nepali Sherpas led by Dawa Sherpa.
“The search for the remaining team members continues. Appeal for prayers,” tweeted Sajid, requesting for prayers.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa have also expressed their concern over the missing climbers and are personally monitoring all developments, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari has said.
“High altitude porters and Lama helicopter will restart search at the crack of dawn. Prayers needed from everyone for their safe return,” added the SAPM.
President Arif Alvi also expressed his concern, saying that “we pray for their safety”.
Meanwhile Sadpara’s colleagues, celebrities and other noted personalities are also praying for the safe return of Sadpara and his colleagues.
Sadpara is a Pakistani mountaineer and has hoisted the country’s flag on eight peaks. He was also part of the team that successfully achieved the first-ever winter summit on Nanga Parbat in 2016.
Earlier on Friday, a 43-year-old Bulgarian mountaineer fell to his death while trying to summit K2, the world’s second tallest peak.
