Two Japanese Climbers Fall While Attempting to Scale K2, the World's Second-Highest Peak
Two Japanese climbers have fallen from K2, the world’s second-highest mountain in northern Pakistan, sparking a search and rescue operation.
The Japanese Embassy in Pakistan reports that the climbers, one in his 30s and the other in his 40s, were involved in the accident on Saturday. An aerial search has spotted them, but their current condition is unknown.
Local media report that authorities are preparing a ground operation to rescue the climbers.
The two climbers are from Ishii Sports, a Tokyo-based climbing equipment store. The company identified them as Hiraide Kazuya and Nakajima Kenro, both experienced climbers and mountain photographers.
According to Ishii Sports, the climbers fell from a height of 7,000 meters at 02:30 UTC while ascending. A helicopter rescue attempt was unsuccessful due to challenging landing conditions, but efforts to reach them by land are ongoing.
In recent months, other tragic incidents involving Japanese climbers have occurred in northern Pakistan, including two men who went missing on a different mountain at around 7,000 meters in June, with one confirmed dead, and another fatal fall earlier this month.
