Renowned mountaineer Hasan Sadpara passed away in Rawalpindi on Monday (today).
Sadpara was brought to a private hospital in Rawalpindi last week after he was diagnosed with blood cancer however he lost the battle against cancer today.
Sadpara, who was among the three Pakistanis to have summited Mount Everest, had been critically ill for the past two months and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Rawalpindi. He leaves behind three sons and a daughter.
Earlier, Sadpara’s son Arif appealed the government to help the ailing mountaineer and recently Punjab government handed over a cheque worth Rs. 2.5 million to the family in this regard.
The government had directed the provision of the best medical care for Sadpara. Having already spent large sums of money on his treatment, his family had all but abandoned the thought of seeking treatment abroad.
Read more: Govt directs provision of best medical facilities to Hassan Sadpara
Hassan Ali Sadpara hailed from a small village of Sadpara, some seven kilometres from Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan.
He was the first Pakistani mountaineer to have climbed six high mountains, including the world’s highest peak Everest (8848m), K2 (8611m), Gasherbrum I (8080m), Gasherbrum II(8034m), Nanga Parbat (8126 m) and Broad Peak (8051m).
At a relatively advanced age, he defied various hardships of mountain-climbing: the rough terrain, adversities of the harsh climate and a deteriorating oxygen supply, to conquer Mount Everest. Sadpara overcame all these obstacles on his life-endangering mission, claiming that it was only love of the country that saw him make it to the top.
The Skardu climber reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain on May 12 becoming the second Pakistani after the legendary mountaineer Nazir Sabir to hoist the national flag on the 29,028ft peak.
After accomplishing this feat, Sadpara also became the most successful climber in Pakistani history, as he also enjoyed the distinction of reaching the peaks of all five mountains of over 8,000m in Pakistan. Sabir only managed to reach summits of four of these mountains.
Sadpara, who ran a small shop at a flea market in Skardu, said it was sheer patriotism that helped him achieve his goal. He claimed that the one thought that kept his ambition alive during the deadly mission, was that of hoisting the Pakistani flag atop the Everest.
Inspired by his father and uncle, Sadpara started mountain-climbing in 1999 and the same year conquered Nanga Parbat. He climbed K-2 in 2004 and two years later reached the peaks of Gasherbrum 1 and Gasherbrum 2 within a week of each other in July 2006. In 2007, he made it to the Broad Peak to become the first Pakistani to scale the tallest five mountains of the country.
Read more: 2nd Pakistani scales Mount Everest
-Pakistan has lost its hero: PM Nawaz-
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif expressing deep grief over the death of renowned mountaineer Hasan Sadpara said: “Pakistan has lost its hero today”.
“Sadpara’s endeavours of winning laurels for the country will always be remembered in golden words,” the prime minister said in his condolence message on the death of
The Prime Minister said late Hasan Sadpara’s dedication and self-confidence enabled him to climb highest peaks of the world.
The entire nation is proud of his outstanding performance, he added.
The prime minister prayed to Almighty Allah to bless the departed soul with eternal peace and for grant of courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude.