SKARDU – An aerial search for three mountaineers, including Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, was suspended on Saturday after they could not be located in initial flight of Pakistan Army helicopters after they went missing in an attempt to scale world’s second highest mountain, K2.
Sadpara, John Snorri from Iceland and MP Mohr from Chile are missing since their final summit push from Camp III on February 5.
The Pakistani Army had sent two helicopters along with two Pakistani Climbers for a search and rescue mission but they now have returned back to Skardu empty handed after a search flight almost up to 7000m.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the team leader of the SST winter expedition team, in a tweet said that “Unfortunately, they can’t trace anything”.
• Army's Helicopter made a search flight almost up to 7000m and returned back to Skardu, unfortunately, they can not trace anything.#k2expedition #k2winter #k2winter2021 #karakorum #sherpa #nepal #pakistan #mountaineering #expeditionk2 #alpinism #wintersummitk2 pic.twitter.com/coemzonVnU
— Chhang Dawa Sherpa (@ChhangDawa) February 6, 2021
Yesterday noon, Ali’s son (Sajid) reported from C III that they were together till Bottle Neck around 10 AM. They seemed to be in good shape and ready to head towards the final summit, however – due to a problem with an oxygen regulator – Sajid had to return to C III from Bottle Neck. Ali Sadpara’s son Sajid Sadpara waited for more than 20 hours with the firm belief that they will reach the summit and descend back to C III.
Reports also surfaced on Friday that Ali Sadpara and two foreign climbers have summited the peak, drawing congratulations from public and officials. However, any official announcement is yet to be released as it is unclear whether they had scaled K2 or not.
Since they are missing, public is praying for the safe return of mountaineers.
I hope Ali Sadpara and his co-climbers are alive and fine. These are very brave mountaineers. We pray for their safety. Good information in your thread. https://t.co/1dsXM3T6HH
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) February 6, 2021
May Allah and Maula protect all of them Ameen.
My heart is so heavy right now.
Prayers needed for Mohammad Ali Sadpara and his team. https://t.co/qlACeZLh5q— Orage| اُمِّ موسیٰ | Free 🇵🇸 (@syedda_rizvi) February 6, 2021
Lots of prayers for Ali Sadpara. May he and his team return safely. #k2winterexpedition2021
— Zeeshan Aslam Dogar (@ZeeshanDogar_5) February 6, 2021
Prayers for Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his team
May they be rescued safe Ameen. #k2winterexpedition2021— Nerdie-Gunner (@Artillery96) February 6, 2021
