One of two Japanese climbers missing in Pakistan found dead

“The body of a Japanese climber has been found and the search for the second climber is on,” Wali Ullah Falahi, deputy district commissioner of Shigar, told AFP.

The body was found 300 meters below Camp 3, he said, about 6,200 meters from where climbers are preparing to reach the summit.

Naiknam Karim, head of Adventure Tours Pakistan, which organized the expedition, told AFP: “It is not clear whose body was found.”

The search by high-altitude mountaineers and experts was supported by two helicopters of the Pakistani army.

The pair reached base camp on June 3 and attempted the climb without the help of porters.

They were last seen on June 10, and the following day other climbers raised the alarm because they expected to run into them.

A military helicopter discovered the climbers on Thursday, but the search was suspended due to bad weather conditions.

Spantik, also known as Golden Peak, is described on the website of tourism company Adventure Tours as a “relatively accessible and straightforward peak.”

The country is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres, including K2, the second highest mountain in the world.

In 2013, more than 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region, which includes most of the Karakoram Mountains, according to government figures. The summer climbing season there runs from early June to late August.

na-srq/ecl/dhw