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Helicopters save climbers after K2 disaster
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-04 19:37 GILGIT - Pakistani army helicopters evacuated two frostbitten mountaineers from K2 and tried to save another Monday 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 28,251-foot (8,611-metre) Himalayan mountain. The accident was the worst for 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," army officer Captain Azimullah Beg told AFP by satellite telephone from K2 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 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 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, 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 told AFP 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, Alam said, adding that the exact number of climbers affected remains unclear but he was aware of 17 who were involved. |
