Rough weather hampers rescue of climbers
islamabad — A Pakistani official says rescuers are set to airlift two European mountain climbers stuck on a Himalayan peak but rough weather is hampering their efforts.
Karrar Haidri, a top official of the Pakistan Alpine Federation, says if the weather allows four volunteers from a Polish expedition will be airlifted to the base camp of Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat mountain.
He says the volunteers will then climb to 7,000 metres above sea level to rescue Tomasz Mackiewicz of Poland and Elisabeth Revol of France. Mackiewicz reportedly is suffering from snow blindness and altitude sickness.
Haidri says weather at present is bad, with the temperature at minus 60 degrees Celsius at the height where the climbers are stuck.
Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol were attempting to ascend the 8,126 metre Nanga Parbat.
The Nanga Parbat is the ninthhighest in the world and known to mountaineers as “Killer Mountain”.
Mackiewicz and Revol got stuck at the 7,400 metre mark, from where they used a satellite phone to call for help, Karrar Haidri said.
Masha Gordon, who has co-ordinated a crowdfunding campaign to fund the rescue operation, said Revol managed to bring Mackiewicz down to 7,280 metres and set him up in a tent to spend the night.
“Eli is in the process of descending down and has last communicated from 6,671m,” Gordon said. “Though she has no tent, she is clearly lucid and is making progress on a descent to help get the rescue effort under way.”
Janusz Majer, who helped prepare the Polish expedition team currently scaling K2, said that messages sent by Revol said Mackiewicz was suffering from snow blindness and frostbite.
“He hid himself in a crevasse to seek protection from wind. Tomasz in the past has spent a couple of nights above 7,000 metres, but with all the needed equipment,” Majer said.
The crowdfunding campaign has raised around 62,500 euros by Friday evening. The Polish government said it would provide financial guarantees and support for the rescue operation. — AP, Reuters