(Web Desk) – The body of Iftikhar Hussain Sadpara, a local mountaineer from Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, was brought back to his hometown after he tragically lost his life in an avalanche on K2.
The incident occurred on Friday at around 12:30pm when an avalanche hit Camp 1, approximately 500 meters above K2’s base camp, affecting a four-member international climbing team.K2, the world’s second-highest peak at 8,611 meters, draws numerous climbers despite its dangerous terrain and severe weather.
Last summer, Gilgit-Baltistan authorities issued 175 climbing permits for the mountain. According to Karrar Haidri, Senior Vice President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), the avalanche struck as the team – including Hussain, Nepali climbers Dawa Finjo Sherpa and Dawa Geljen Sherpa, and high-altitude porter Niaz Ali from Skardu – was descending from Camp 2 during a summit rotation.
One foreign climber sustained minor injuries, while two others safely reached the Advance Base Camp. Unfortunately, Hussain did not survive. Tour operator Syed Anwar confirmed that Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters transported Hussain’s body and the injured climber, Dawa Finjo Sherpa, from K2’s base camp to Skardu on Saturday.
Hussain’s body was handed over to his family for burial, and Finjo, who is stable, is receiving treatment at a government hospital in Skardu. Two helicopters from the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps facilitated the operation after the expedition outfitter requested assistance from ACP President Major General Irfan Arshad and Askari Aviation.
The request was approved by the army’s General Headquarters on humanitarian grounds.
Earlier this month, a Czech tourist, Klára Kolouchová, aged 46, died after falling into a ravine at Nanga Parbat’s base camp in Gilgit-Baltistan. She was part of a multinational team attempting to summit the peak but was forced to descend from Camp 4 due to deteriorating health, accompanied by Nepali Sherpa Taramam Tamang.
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