Team at Nilt to start rescue operation at Rakaposhi
Update: Two helicopters are reconnoitring near Rakaposhi BC but unable to land. Wajidullah Nagri and two Czech climbers are stranded at 6900m altitude. They are in good health.
High Asia Herald Report
Two helicopters are reconnoitring near Rakaposhi basecamp to locate the three climbers stranded on the peak. Communication has been re-established with the three climbers.
“They are feeling better now and trying to come down,” Ali Ahmed, a Geo News reporter told The High Asia Herald.
The ground rescue team consisting of Abdul Joshi, Eed Muhammad and Mansoor Karim from Shimshal, are awaiting the landing of the helicopters at Nilt, Nagar District.
The two helicopters arrived from Skardu to rescue the climbers, he said.
The helicopters flew from Skardu after some delay due to rain in the region, Ali said.
The climbers have been asked to try to come down at 6000m as the helicopters may not be able to fly to 6900m altitude. The helicopters will airlift Joshi and drop him at the location of the climbers to rescue them if the weather condition improves, he added.
The rescue team will start its ground operation if the helicopters do not make a landing, Ali added.
The 41 years old Wajidullah from Nagar district of Gilgit-Baltistan, Peter Macek and Jakub Vicek, from the Czech Republic stranded somewhere between 6700m and 6900m.
They were descending after reaching the summit of the 7,788m high peak in the Karakoram ranges on Thursday.
Wajid sent a text message to his family saying they had just started going down from the top, local and national media reported.
Wajid’s brother, Khairullah told Dawn that he received a text message from his brother at around 5pm that he and other climbers had begun the descent after reaching the summit of the mountain.
They sent an SOS sometime in the evening that they have run into trouble.
They had begun the ascent of the peak, one of the world’s most challenging, on Sept 1 from the south ridge.
Wajidullah Nagri, 41, is the second Pakistani to climb Rakaposhi after Sher Khan who scaled it in 1979.
For the first time, it was scaled by Mike Bank Tom Patey of the UK in 1958.
Some media suggest that they may have climbed Rakaposhi by a new route, but this is unconfirmed.
The powerful French team of Helias Millerioux, Patrick Wagnon, and Yannick Graziani climbed the peak alpine-style last month, following the classic British route up the SW Spur. Two years ago, Japanese Kenro Nakayima and Kazuya Hiraide climbed a bold new line up the difficult south face, which won them the 2019 Piolet d’Or.
Rakaposhi is the 12th highest peak in Pakistan and 27th in the world located in the Karakoram mountain range. Also known as Dumani (mother of mist or mother of clouds).
It is considered one of the beautiful and most dangerous peaks. It is the only mountain in the world whose climb involves gaining over 5,000 vertical metres from BC to summit.
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