Wilco van Rooijen, pictured, and fellow countryman Cas van de Gewel returned to camp injured after a huge chunk of ice sheared off the mountain and hit climbers.
Wilco van Rooijen, pictured, and fellow countryman Cas van de Gewel returned to camp injured after a huge chunk of ice sheared off the mountain and hit climbers.

More climbers found alive on K-2



Pakistani army helicopters evacuated two frostbitten mountaineers from K-2 and tried to save another today after a catastrophic ice fall on the world's second highest peak killed 11 climbers. Three South Koreans, two Nepalis, two Pakistanis, a Serbian, an Irishman, a Norwegian and a Frenchman died in Friday's disastrous avalanche on the slopes of the remote 8,611-metre Himalayan mountain.

The accident was the worst in more than 20 years on the giant pyramidal peak, which is widely acknowledged as far harder to scale than Mount Everest, with a fatality rate almost five times as high. "Two Dutch climbers were brought by our people and their colleagues down to base camp from an altitude of 7,300 metres overnight," the army officer Captain Azimullah Beg said by satellite telephone from K-2 base camp.

"They were then picked up by army helicopter from base camp this morning and have now been shifted to hospital for treatment for severe frostbite," said Mr Beg from the camp, which sits at 5,200 metres. The Dutch climbers were identified as Wilco Van Rooijen, leader of one of the expeditions caught up in the tragedy, and Cas van de Gevel, according to Mr Beg and the army-linked company operating the helicopters, Askari Aviation.

A second chopper went up to help a stranded Italian identified as Marco Confortola but could not touch down and returned after a brief contact with the climber, a Pakistani mountain guide, Sultan Alam, said. "Our four high-altitude porters left a while ago and it is expected that they will bring the Italian climber down this evening," he said from base camp, as the roar of a helicopter could be heard in the background.

The Italian was unable to walk because of frostbite in his leg, officials said. All three climbers were "badly affected and it appears that at least one of them would have his hand and leg chopped off. This is what our high altitude doctors believe", Alam said. The disaster happened when a pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit and swept away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent on Friday.

The number of dead climbers had risen from the overnight total of nine, Mr Alam said, adding that the exact number of climbers affected remains unclear but he was aware of 17 who were involved. "At least 11 climbers have died. This is one of the worst incidents in the history of K-2 climbing," Mr Alam said. The incident was the deadliest to hit the peak on the Pakistan-China border since 1986 when 12 climbers died, said Nazir Sabir, a celebrated Pakistani mountaineer who scaled K-2 in 1981.

In Seoul, a mountaineering club yesterday confirmed that three South Koreans and two Sherpas were among those killed, adding that another two Korean climbers got to base camp before the avalanche struck. The survivors had suspended attempts to recover the bodies of their colleagues due to the "hopeless" weather conditions, said Cho Hyung-Gyu, president of the country's southeastern Kyongnam mountaineering club.

A Swedish climber who survived said he feared for his life when a Pakistani climber fell on top of him. "I have carried down both living and dead people from the mountain," the climber, Fredrik Straeng, told the Swedish news agency TT, also putting the death toll at 11. "I was terrified that (the Pakistani) would pull us all off the cliff and screamed to him to use his ice axe, but he lost his grip and plummeted off a 300-metre cliff," Mr Straeng said.

He said a large number of climbers decided to leave their camp at just over 7,000 metres before disaster struck to try to reach the summit after the skies cleared following a long period of poor weather. "We had a feeling this would not turn out well and decided to turn around. The accident could have been prevented. These mountains lure out way too inexperienced and naive people," he said. Missing Irishman, Gerard McDonnell, 37, an Alaska-based oil worker who has climbed Everest, was given up for dead by his experienced mountaineering friend, Pat Falvey.

Norwegian media reported that Rolf Bae, 33, died in the disaster, while his wife was reportedly trying to make her way down with two other Norwegians. Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli first scaled K-2 on July 31, 1954. Between that first ascent and 2007, there were 284 successful ascents and 66 fatalities. In the same period, Everest was summited 3,681 times, with 210 deaths.

*AFP

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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Tuesday results:

  • Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
  • UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
  • Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets

Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong

Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures