Rescuers call off efforts to save Polish climber
islamabad — An elite group of volunteers were able to rescue a French mountaineer from a Himalayan peak but called off efforts to retrieve a Polish climber, who was declared deceased, a Pakistani official said Sunday.
The group of Polish climbers with support from the Pakistani military launched the effort on Saturday afternoon to rescue stranded French mountaineer Elisabeth Revol, but were unable to reach Polish national Tomek Mackiewicz on Nanga Parbat, nicknamed “killer mountain”.
“The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible — because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger,” wrote Ludovic Giambiasi, a friend of Revol, in a series of updates > French mountaineer Elisabeth Revol has been rescued. > Rescuers were unable to reach Polish Tomek Mackiewicz who has been declared deceased. > Revol and Mackiewicz were attempting to summit Nanga on Facebook. “It’s a terrible and painful decision. We are in deep sadness. All our thoughts go out to Tomek’s family and friends. We are crying.”
The rescue mission involved four mountaineers who were flown by the Pakistani military from the base camp of K2 — the world’s second-highest peak — to reach the Parbat, the ninth highest peak at 8,126 metres. > Mackiewicz was suffering from snow blindness and altitude sickness. > Revol has frostbite on her feet and cannot walk. stranded climbers. “The K2 climbers who stopped their historic effort for a winter K2 summit will descend with Elisabeth Revol — one life saved,” said Karar Haideri, spokesman for the Alpine Club of Pakistan, on Sunday.
The team is in the process of being evacuated by helicopter after a five and a half hour descent down the mountain to Nanga Parbat’s camp one early Sunday, where they are set to airlifted to a hospital in nearby Skardu.
“(Revol) has frostbite and some (snow) blindness,” said Asghar Ali Porik from Jasmine Tours who helped organise the K2 expedition.
Pakistani climber Karim Shah, who was in contact with the expedition, said the rescue effort was unmatched in the history of mountaineering, with the team ascending 1,200 metres in complete darkness along a treacherous route without a fixed rope.
“No one did such a climb before,” Shah said. “Most people it takes two or three days and they did it in eight hours in the darkness.” — AFP, AP
French alpinist rescued, taken to hospital