KHAPLU: Two elite Japanese mountain climbers, Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima, fell from 7,500 metres while attempting to scale the world’s second highest mountain, K2. Officials reported that a helicopter spotted the “motionless pair” but had to return without rescuing them.
The veteran mountaineers were attempting an ascent of the jagged western face of K2 using an expert climbing style that prioritises speed and minimal fixed ropes. On Saturday, “they fell from a height of 7,500 metres (24,600 feet),” Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) Secretary Karrar Haidri said in a statement.
“A helicopter rescue was attempted, however, the heli could not land,” said Wali Ullah Falahi, the deputy commissioner for Shigar district, which encompasses the 8,611-metre K2. “Upon close inspection, the bodies of the two climbers were spotted, and it was determined that there was no movement. The heli then turned back,” he told AFP.
No organisation has yet confirmed the pair are dead. Ishii Sports, a Japanese outdoor goods brand sponsoring the climbers, stated that the high altitude and steep slope forced the helicopter to abort its landing. “The pilot said the two men can be seen, but their status was unclear,” the firm said. “We are currently reviewing how we will rescue them.”
Rescue attempts on K2 are extremely risky, even on the southeastern ridge, the most common route to the top. The western face, a more vertical and exposed rock face, has only been successfully scaled once before by a Russian team in 2007.
The ACP said Hiraide and Nakajima had both won multiple Piolets d’Or awards — described as “the Oscars of climbing” — for their feats of sportsmanship. They “meticulously planned and trained for their K2 expedition, underscoring their dedication to pushing the boundaries of high-altitude mountaineering,” the ACP said.
During this summer climbing season, three other Japanese climbers have died in Pakistan — all on the 7,027-metre Spantik mountain, also in the Gilgit Baltistan region. Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000 metres, including K2, which is considered a more difficult ascent than Everest, earning it the nickname “Savage Mountain.”
