K-2 disaster claims nine lives in peak's 'death zone'

An ice fall on Pakistan's K-2 mountain has killed at least nine climbers, while others remain unaccounted for.

The peak of K-2, the world's second highest mountain.

GILGIT, Pakistan // At least nine climbers have perished on K-2 in Pakistan in the worst day for mountaineering on the world's second-highest peak, and the toll could rise further, expedition organisers said today. Those confirmed dead included three South Koreans, two Nepalese, along with Serbian, Norwegian, Dutch and French climbers. Unconfirmed reports said one Pakistani had died and several foreign and local climbers were unaccounted for. Catastrophe struck on Friday, when a chunk of ice broke off from a serac, a pillar of ice, and tore away fixed lines from a perilous steep gully known as the Bottleneck, above 8,200 metres. Several expeditions were on the mountain, including a Korean team that was making its descent after climbing the 8,611-metre peak in northern Pakistan near the border with China. The Korean team lost five members, including the two Nepalese, in the ice fall. "They were returning from the summit when an avalanche at the Bottleneck hit them," Ghulam Mohammed, owner of Blue Sky Travels and Tours, said. "Our liaison officer at the base camp confirmed the death of five." Three more fatalities were confirmed by Brig Mohammed Akram, vice president of Pakistan's Adventure Foundation. "We don't have names of dead climbers, but it has been confirmed that one Dutch, one Norwegian and one French are in the tally of dead," Brig Akram said. A Serbian climber, named as Dren Mandic on mountaineering websites, fell to his death while ascending earlier on Friday and a Pakistani was also believed to have died. The previous deadliest day in the history of K-2, was on Aug 13, 1995, when six people fell or disappeared during a storm, including British climber Alison Hargreaves. Agostino Da Polenza, the head of Italian mountaineering group Ev-K2-CNR, told SkyItalia Television that based on information he was given by an Italian climber another four people were missing. The ice fall had left about a dozen climbers stranded at the Bottleneck, at an altitude known as the "Death Zone" because bodies begin degenerating because of lack of oxygen. A few were either seen or reported to have made their way back to camps, still high on the mountain. The seven surviving members of the Korean team had descended to camps lower down. "We were told that some climbers are still returning to the camps," Major Farooq Firoz, an army spokesman, said. The sky was clear, and there were no forecasts of bad weather when the accident happened, said Asghar Ali, a tour operator who reported all members of his expedition were accounted for. A Dutch expedition said on its website, www.noritk2.nl, that three of its team were descending from Camp Three, at 7,350 metres. Two of them were suffering from frostbite. But it said there was no information about French climber Hugues d'Aubarede, Irish climber Gerard McDonnell and a third climber identified as Karim. A team of climbers had begun ascending to take supplies up the mountain, while helicopters were being organised to bring injured climbers down this morning. A spotter plane has been on standby, waiting for clouds to clear, before flying over the flanks of K-2 to look for those still missing. More than 70 climbers have lost their lives on K-2, a good number of them at the Bottleneck. Reinhold Messner, the renowned Italian climber, called K-2, a steep pyramid of rock and ice at the head of a glacial valley, "the mountain of mountains". Though K-2 is not the deadliest in terms of number of fatalities, statistics show chances of dying making a descent after summitting are far greater than for other peaks. * Reuters

Several expeditions were on the mountain, and the Korean team was making its descent after summiting the 8,611 metre peak, in northern Pakistan, near the border with China. "They were returning from the summit when an avalanche at the Bottleneck hit them," Ghulam Mohammad, owner of Blue Sky Travels and Tours, told Reuters. "Our liaison officer at the Base Camp confirmed death of five." Three of the dead were Korean and two were Nepalese. Seven members of the team managed to reached camps lower down the mountain.

A Serbian climber, identified as Dren Mandic on various mountaineering websites, fell to his death during the ascent and a Pakistani sherpa was also believed to have died last Friday. The day is likely to go down as the deadliest in the history of K-2, having already certainly matched the toll set on Aug 13 1995, when six people fell or disappeared during a storm, including British female climber Alison Hargreaves.

The head of Italian mountaineering group Ev-K2-CNR said the toll could be higher, according to information he had received from an Italian climber in one of the expeditions. "According to the rumours from the various expeditions at the base camp, there should be nine people dead and four still missing," the group's head, Agostino Da Polenza, who is in Italy, told SkyItalia television. Around a dozen climbers were stranded at Bottleneck, at an altitude known as the "Death Zone", because bodies begin degenerating because of lack of oxygen.

A few were either seen or reported to have made their way back to camps, still high on the mountain. "We were told that some climbers are still returning to the camps," Major Farooq Firoz, an army spokesman, said. The sky was clear and there were no forecasts of bad weather when the accident happened, said tour operator Asghar Ali, who reported all members of his expedition were accounted for. A Dutch expedition said on its website, www.noritk2.nl, that three of its team were descending from Camp Three, at 7,350 metres. Two of them were suffering from frostbite.

But it said there was no information about a French climber Hugues d'Aubarede, Irish climber Gerard McDonnell, and a third climber identified as Karim. The Pakistani military was undecided whether to risk mounting a helicopter rescue mission because of the hazardous conditions, despite clear weather. "We're still discussing the possibilities of an operation because the altitude where the accident occurred is very high," an army spokesman in the region, Major Farooq Firoz, said.

"We can take a helicopter up there to drop medicines and supplies but carrying out any operation is very difficult." More than 70 climbers have lost their lives on K-2, a good number of them at the Bottleneck. Called "the mountain of mountains" by the renowned Italian climber Reinhold Messner, K-2 is not the deadliest in terms of number of fatalities, but statistics show chances of dying making a descent after summitting K-2 are greater than for other peaks.

*Reuters