A Japanese climber died and a colleague was injured while trying to climb one of the highest peaks in northern Pakistan last week, a climbing club official and a statement from the injured climbers said Tuesday.
The two Japanese climbers took part in a climbing expedition organized by a local tour operator, according to Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
He said the aim of the expedition was to reach an unprecedented peak in the Andaq Valley in the north of the country. He said that while climbing one of the mountains there, climber Shinji Tamura slipped and fell from a height of 5,380 meters.
Haidri told the Associated Press that Shinji’s partner, Semba Takayasu, was injured when he hit something, possibly a rock. Nonetheless, he said that Semba later made it to the base camp safely to seek help from local authorities.
“Then suddenly the rappelling point broke, so I fell down with Shinji. I think our rappelling rope was a 60 meter double rope, so the two of us held on for about 60 meters. On the one hand, Shinji was hit hard maybe by a rock or something and he was seriously injured,” said Semba.
Haidri said the search and rescue team was dispatched to the location where the Japanese climber slipped. But the search failed to find Shinji.
He said the search operation was stopped on Monday (14/8) and Shinji was declared dead.
Every year, hundreds of local and foreign climbers climb in northern Pakistan, where there are some of the highest peaked mountains.
The incident came days after Pakistani authorities said they were investigating the death of a Pakistani porter near the summit of K2, the world’s most dangerous mountain. (rd/hr)
