Two Japanese climbers identified in K2 accident

New Delhi, July 28 (Jiji Press) – The two Japanese men who fell from K2, the world’s second highest mountain after Mount Everest, on Saturday have been identified as famous mountaineers belonging to Japanese mountaineering equipment manufacturer Ishii Sports.

According to the company, they are 45-year-old Kazuya Hiraide from Nagano Prefecture in central Japan and 39-year-old Kenro Nakajima from western Nara Prefecture.

Nothing is known about the safety of the two men, who are also mountain photographers. The 8,611-meter-high K2 is located in the Karakoram Mountains in northern Pakistan.

Both Hiraide and Nakajima have received the prestigious Piolets d’Or award, given to outstanding mountaineers, and are known worldwide as top alpinists. Nakajima has appeared on Japanese television programs.

According to Ishii Sports and a local mountaineering organization, Hiraide and Nakajima fell from an altitude of about 7,000 meters while climbing the west face of K2 on Saturday.

(Copyright: The Jiji Press, Ltd.)