Pakistan army helicopters resume search for missing climbers

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two Pakistani army helicopters resumed Monday the search for three mountaineers who went missing while attempting to scale K2 the world’s second-highest mountain, as their family and friends became increasingly concerned for their fate The three — Pakistani climber Ali Sadpara, John Snorri of Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile — lost contact with base camp late on Friday and were reported missing on Saturday, after their support team stopped receiving communications from them during their ascent of the 8,611-meter high K2 — sometimes referred to as “killer mountain.” Located in the Karakorum mountain range, K2 is one of the most dangerous climbs. The helicopters carrying rescuers took off early in the morning on Monday and were on the way to K2 to resume the search for the third consecutive day, said Waqas Johar, a district government administrator. Sadpara, an experienced climber, had earlier scaled the world’s eight highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and was attempting to climb K2 in winter. Sadpara's son Sajid Ali Sadpara, himself a mountaineer who was part of the expedition at the start but later returned to base camp after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned, said their chances after “spending two to three days in the winter at 8,000 are next to none."