ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani man who became the youngest climber of one of the world’s highest mountains is safe after going missing during an expedition to another dangerous peak, his father and an official said Thursday.
Last year, Shehroze Kashif scaled K2 at age 19. He and another Pakistani, Fazal Ali, went missing earlier this week after scaling Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak. That prompted the country’s military to launch a search for them after Kashif’s family issued an emotional appeal to rescue the pair.
The two climbers scaled Nanga Parbat on Tuesday but apparently encountered trouble while descending.
Nanga Parbat located in Pakistan’s north is known as “Killer Mountain” because of its dangerous conditions.
On Thursday, Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told The Associated Press that both the climbers were spotted the previous day. “They are safe. They are descending on their own,” he said. He said the bad weather hampered the rescue mission.
In a statement, the military also said it sent helicopters to pluck the climbers but the bad weather was an obstacle to reaching them. The statement said the army had conducted a “high-risk” mission to rescue the climbers since Wednesday.
Apart from dispatching helicopters, the military also sent a ground search team comprising high-altitude porters, it said.
In a statement Thursday, Kashif’s father, Kashif Salman confirmed that his son and Ali were safe and thanked army officials.
“I have good news. My son and Fazal Ali today safely reached a place on Nanga Parbat from where now they can be air-lifted,” Salman told The Associated Press phone. He said authorities had asked the two climbers to wait for the helicopters to reach there.
Every year, hundreds of local and foreign climbers try to scale K2, Nanga Parbat and the world’s other highest mountains located in the north.
Kashif in 2021 also scaled Mount Everest, which is 237 meters (777 feet) taller than K2.
Last year, Kashif told the AP that nothing is impossible if we strive to get something. “My message to the world is challenge your limit, cross it and get what you desire,” he said.
