Pakistani mountaineers Naila Kiani, Sirbaz Khan survive avalanche in Tibet
Sports
Two foreign climbers killed in the tragic incident
GILGIT (Web Desk/Reuters) - Pakistani mountaineers Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan survived an avalanche near the summit of Tibet’s Shishapangma peak (8,027 metres).
Two ill-fated climbers from the US and Nepal lost their lives and two others from the US and Nepal went missing after huge avalanches hit the main climbing route.
Both the Pakistani climbers were part of the Imagine Nepal expedition team and started their summit attempt on Friday evening. Saad Munawar, the expedition manager of Sirbaz, confirmed the safe return of both the climbers to Camp 1.
According to reports, an avalanche hit the climbing route above 7,800m as climbers attempted to reach the summit point early on Saturday at around 7am.
US climber Anna Gutu and her Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, lost their lives in the tragic incident. Another American climber Gina Marie and her guide, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa from Nepal, went missing.
The dead bodies of two climbers were recovered by the rescuers while the search is going on for the missing mountaineers.
The expedition manager had communicated with Mr Sirbaz via satellite phone and confirmed their safe return to Camp 1 after abandoning the mission.
It merits mention here that Ms Kiani and Mr Sirbaz became the first Pakistani duo to summit Cho Oyu (8,201m) in Tibet, the world’s sixth-highest peak last week.
Ms Kiani is the first Pakistani woman to summit 10 peaks above 8,000m and the only Pakistani to ascend seven peaks above 8,000m in six months. Mr Sirbaz is the only Pakistani to summit 13 peaks above 8,000m, and the only one to conquer 10 mountains above 8,000m without oxygen.
Ms Kiani’s official page on social media said, “We share with great sadness that 2 avalanches have caused the death of 4 climbers close to the summit of Shishapangma, leading to the aborted mission of Naila and Sirbaz… They are now both back at camp 1, very shaken and distressed after witnessing the avalanche take the lives of their very own friends @ginamarierzucidlo and @anyatraveler. The other climbers were Sherpas Mingma and Lama, both sources of inspiration in the mountaineering community. We share our deepest heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of these climbers.”
October is a popular month for climbers in the Himalayas due to its traditionally more stable conditions as monsoonal rains ease. But scientists warn global warming is raising avalanche risks in high-altitude regions including the Himalayas.
