Search operation for missing European climbers resumed

0
198

ISLAMABAD: Spanish and Pakistani mountaineers resumed their search operation on Tuesday for two missing European mountain climbers, who went missing on Nanga Parbat.

“A team consisting of Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara and Felix Criado intends to reach area of Camp-III today”, Karrar Haidri, Secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement.

The pair of Italian Daniele Nardi and Scotsman Tom Ballard is missing on Nanga Parbat for over a week on Nanga Parbat, also known as “Killer Mountain” due to its dangerous conditions.

Karrar said drones were being used to reconnoiter the area and look for the lost climbers. “Due to fresh snowfall in last few days, all routes on Diamir side slope of Nanga Parbat have become very unstable and are prone to avalanches.  Ground reconnaissance will therefore be restricted along the Mummery Spur”, he added.

Ballard, 30, is the son of Alison Hargreaves, the first woman who ascended Mount Everest alone.  She died at the age 33 in 1995 while descending the summit of K2. In 2015, he became the first person to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter.

Nardi, 42 also a skilled climber, from near Rome, has attempted the Nanga Parbat summit in winter several times in the past.