RAWALPINDI (Monitoring Desk): The Pakistan Army has launched an operation to rescue two foreign climbers who have been missing since Thursday while attempting to scale the Nanga Parbat, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.
“Two army helicopters, carrying four rescuers, are undertaking the rescue mission,” the ISPR statement said, adding that concerned embassies had requested the Pakistan Army to launch an operation to rescue the two mountaineers.
Initial media reports suggested a two-member expedition team, comprising Polish mountaineer Tomek Mackiewicz and Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol, had gone missing while trying to scale Nanga Parbat, also known as the ‘killer mountain’.
As per initial reports, nobody had been able to contact the two climbers once the pair had reached an altitude of 8,000 metres on Thursday.
The severing of communication with the team at such a high altitude was considered to be dangerous for the mountaineers, sources said.
The two-member team attempting to reach the summit of Nanga Parbat in winter had reportedly started their expedition on January 8.
Polish media said the two mountaineers had reached an altitude of 7,300 metres and wanted to reach the summit on Thursday. They said that people at the base camp were extremely concerned about the safety of the two climbers.
