SKARDU: The search operation for globally renowned Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara and two other mountaineers is underway today (Sunday), a day after Pakistan Army helicopters returned without finding him.
Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, Chile’s John Snorri and Iceland’s JP Mohr Prieto have been missing since Friday and have not been in contact with the base camp, said a senior official of Pakistan’s Alpine Club.
According to details, a special team has been formed for the search of missing Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara and his companions. Several experts including Fazal Ali, Jalal from Shimshal, Imtiaz Hussain and Akbar Ali from Skardu, Chhang Dawa Sherpa and other members of the SST winter expedition team are part of the rescue mission.
The rescue team will start another round of search at the peak. Helicopters reportedly flew to a height of 7,000 metres on Saturday afternoon in their attempt to locate the missing mountaineers but were unable to find any clue to their whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sadpara, who was also part of the expedition, reached the K2 base camp on Saturday evening after waiting for the three climbers at camp 3 for over 20 hours.
Earlier, it was reported that the three climbers had managed to summit K2. However, no official statement has been released in this regard and it is currently unclear whether they managed to summit the peak on Friday or not.
On the other hand, Iceland Foreign Minister, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson has appreciated Pakistan’s steps taken for searching missing K2 climbers. Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the issue of three missing climbers.
On this occasion, FM Qureshi apprised the Iceland foreign minister about the steps taken by the Pakistani authorities to search and rescue the missing mountaineers. He assured that Pakistan will spare no effort and will extend all possible support in this regard.
The foreign minister of Iceland appreciated the ongoing search and rescue operation for John Snorri and other climbers by Pakistani authorities. A search operation has been launched again today to trace Pakistan’s renowned climber Ali Sadpara and his team.
The chief minister of the Gilgit-Baltistan region said that the search operation to safely retrieve Sadpara and his two compatriots was underway while PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari referred to Sadpur as a proud hero of the nation. He said the government must make his safe return back their top priority.
