Pak Army resumes search for missing Iranian climbers

Pakistan army’s rescue teams Monday resumed search for three missing Iranian climbers in the north of the country, officials said.  

The Iranian climbers have gone missing five days ago at about 7,800 metres while descending from the Broad Peak after conquering it. 

According to sources, nine climbers from different countries scaled the peak and began descending. Six of them reached the base camp.

A tourism official in the region, Sadia Danish, said that the Pakistan army launched a search operation on Sunday to rescue the stranded climber but did not succeed due to inclement weather.

Unofficial search had been started on July 16 when the team had gone missing, she said. The Iranian climbers are thought to have strayed the traditional route and were stranded while descending the peak.

The Iranian embassy in Islamabad is also in touch with the Pakistani authorities.

With a height of 8,051 metres, the Broad Peak, also known as K3, is the 12th highest mountain in the world. It is located on the Pak-China border and in the Karakoram mountain range about 8km from K2.

The head of a mountaineering club in Islamabad Manzoor Hussain, said his team was coordination the expedition and that the three Iranians successfully ascended the summit of Broad Peak.

He said the men sent a call for help while descending the peak, saying they were exhausted and had run out of food.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that one Iranian climber has died, one is missing and another is stranded. There is no official confirmation of the death.

The incident occurred just weeks after militants attacked a camp of foreign mountaineers in northern Pakistan and killed 10 of them.

The authorities have claimed arrested some suspects however no more details have been shared with the media.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Jul 22 2013. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.