It’s Official: 11 Climbers Perish On K2 In One Of Mountaineering’s Most Deadly Accidents
Posted by Jason A. Hendricks on August 4, 2008 |
GILGIT, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistani army helicopters evacuated two frostbitten mountaineers from K2 and tried to save another Monday after a catastrophic ice fall on the world’s second highest peak killed 11 climbers.
Three South Koreans, two Nepalis, two Pakistanis, a Serbian, an Irishman, a Norwegian and a Frenchman died in Friday’s disastrous avalanche on the slopes of the remote 28,251-foot (8,611-metre) Himalayan mountain.
The accident was the worst for more than 20 years on the giant pyramidal peak.
“Two Dutch climbers were brought by our people and their colleagues down to base camp from an altitude of 7,300 metres overnight,” army officer Captain Azimullah Beg told AFP by satellite telephone from K2 base camp.
“They were then picked up by army helicopter from base camp this morning and have now been shifted to hospital for treatment for severe frostbite,” said Beg from the camp, which sits at 5,200 metres.
The Dutch climbers were identified as Wilco Van Rooijen, leader of one of the expeditions caught up in the tragedy, and Cas van de Gevel, according to Beg and the army-linked company operating the helicopters, Askari Aviation.
A second chopper went up to help a stranded Italian identified as Marco Confortola but could not touch down and returned after a brief contact with the climber, Pakistani mountain guide Sultan Alam said.
“Our four high-altitude porters left a while ago and it is expected that they will bring the Italian climber down this evening,” he told AFP from base camp, as the roar of a helicopter could be heard in the background.
The Italian was unable to walk because of frostbite in his leg, officials said.
All three climbers were “badly affected and it appears that at least one of them would have his hand and leg chopped off. This is what our high altitude doctors believe,” Alam said.
The disaster happened when a pillar of ice broke away in a steep gully known as the Bottleneck near the summit and swept away fixed lines used by the mountaineers as they made their descent on Friday.
The number of dead climbers had risen from the overnight total of nine, Alam said, adding that the exact number of climbers affected remains unclear but he was aware of 17 who were involved.
“At least 11 climbers have died. This is one of the worst incidents in the history of K2 climbing,” Alam said.
The incident was the deadliest to hit the peak on the Pakistan-China border since 1986 when 12 climbers died, said Nazir Sabir, a celebrated Pakistani mountaineer who scaled K2 in 1981.
In Seoul, a mountaineering club on Monday confirmed that three South Koreans and two Sherpas were among those killed, adding that another two Korean climbers got to base camp before the avalanche struck.
The survivors had suspended attempts to recover the bodies of their colleagues due to the “hopeless” weather conditions, Cho Hyung-Gyu, president of the country’s southeastern Kyongnam mountaineering club, told AFP.
Editor’s Note: This report is coming from Captain Azimullah Beg, an official spokesperson from the rescue coordination center on K2. This is the first ‘official release’ coming from authorities on K2 in regars to the recent tragedy. A list of names follow:
Names of the Deceased:
1. Mr. Kim Hyo - Gyeong Korean
2. Mr. Park Kyeong - Hyo Korean
3. Mr. Hwang Dong - Jin Korean
4. Mr. Jumic Bhote Nepali
5. Mr. Pasang Bhote Nepali
6. Mr. Jehan Baig Pakistan HP
7. Mr. Meherban Karim Pakistani HP
8. Mr. D’aubarede Hugues Jean - Louis Marie French
9. Mr. Gerard McDonnell Irish
10. Mr. Dren Mandic Serbian
11 Mr. Rolf Bae Norwegian
It should also be noted that the following people have been severely injured in the recent accident on K2.
Mr. Wilco van Rooijen Dutch
Mr. Cas van de Gevel Dutch
Mr. Marco Confortola Italian
Wilco and Cas have been brought off the mountain and are currently recieving medical attention at a local hospital. Efforts are currently ongoing to extract Marco Confortola from K2. He was to be airlifted, but the helicopter could not land. Efforts are currently being coordinated with climbers in the region to help bring him down manually, where he will then recieve helicopter assistance to the hospital. Marco can not walk under his own power and suffers from severe frostbite of the leg.
Be sure to check back often for further updates in regards to the K2 Tragedy and the climbers involved. You may subscribe to The Adventurist’s Free Email Newsletter presented daily, or track us by RSS Feed in your favorite Feed Reader.
You may also join in on the current conversation with your thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes for the stranded climbers. This area is begining to get a lot of interst as people stop by and offer their prayers and thoughts on this tragedy.
You may also check out my previous reports beginning when this news first broke. To check out the previous articles in relation to k2 and the current rescue efforts, click the articles below to get caught up on the situation.
At this time I would like to stop and thank each and every one of you for your continued interest in the current events on K2. I will try to update as more information is released. I would also like to welcome the readers coming in from UKClimbing.com, as well as those from Topix and AllTop for stopping by and joining in on the discussions. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment on this post. Show these rescuers and climbers your support by leaving your well-wishes and Prayers, then stop back by for continued live updates.
There is a view from the mountain from Nick Rice at this link.
http://www.nickrice.us/index_files/k2dispatch.htm
August 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
[...] of coverage will be moot. There will no place that is not reachable by phone. In the wake of the terrible tragedy this week on K2 I have to wonder how many lives could be have been saved if communication could have [...]
August 5th, 2008 at 7:53 am
This is such a terrible tragedy. This puts into better perspective what dangers these climbers face when they are out there. My prayers go out to the family and friends of those who died.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Is this the worst mountaineering tragedy ever?
August 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Actually, it isn’t. I have been searching for this information myself over the last couple of days. This one is bigger than the 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest, and actually to find something of comparable size, you have to go back to 1986, and once again, K2. In that year, 13 people died from nine different parties, doing basically the same thing. Going for the summit. This has been recorded in an awesome book called “K2 Triumph and Tragedy” by Jim Curran-you can actually find this on Amazon.com
There may even be a couple more over the years that were bigger. Needless to say, this will still go down as a very big tragedy in the coming years and definitely ranks right up there with the biggest.
Don’t be surprised when the book deals are made.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I believe all those 1986 deaths at K2 were spread out over 6 weeks or maybe even a little more time.
I don’t recall a single event, same day, or whatever else you want to call the tragedy this past weekend ever resulting in 11 deaths, but I’m definitely no expert.
Agreed about the coming book deals.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
July 17, 1990 - An avalanche swept 40 climbers from five countries to their deaths. The victims — 27 Soviet climbers, six Czechs, four Israelis, two Swiss and one Spaniard — were camped some 6,000 metres (19,500 feet) up in the Pamir mountains in Central Asia.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Wow.
There was also supposed to be an avalanche on Everest in 1952 that killed upwards of 40 Russian climbers.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hey, where are you guys getting this info? Those are both quite intriguing instances. In regards to the ‘52 Everest tragedy, I definitely need to look more in to this one–if either of these instances are true, for the last 10-15 years, many sources are wrong. Many claim, including myself, that the ‘96 tragedy was the biggest on Everest at one time.
That is one of the reason’s I find some of this information so intriguing. I am always learning something new. Perhaps I can shoot an email off to Miss Elizabeth Hawley, she seems to be the main resource for Himalayan climbing-I am sure she has the information.
I am also interested in your sources for this info. Thanks for giving me something to track down and go on. Nice job, guys.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I have located the reference to the avalanche that swept 40 climbers away in the Pamir mountains. Let me go check a resource on the Everest Incident.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
From my resource, there is nothing about an incident of this magnitude on Everest. In 1952, one climber was killed, but he was of Sherpa descent. The only reference to Russians even dying on Everest comes in 1997, when three were killed. This could very well be an event that has went unreported by the Soviet Army, or perhaps Gary, you are even referencing the same incident that Rob mentioned where 40 climbers died and 27 were of Russian descent-
I wonder if there is another resources on the web for the information related to the 1990 avalanche. I am curious to see what went down at hat ime, and how it was handled. There has to be web reports or something. Any tips?
August 5th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
If you google “December 1952 Everest Avalanche” the first entry will be a NYT article describing the 1990 disaster. In the same article is mention of the 1952 Everest disaster.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Thanks Gary, I will check it out. I will let you know what I find.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Alright, according to that report 40 soviet climbers died in 1952 on Mt. Everest, but this information has never been acknowledged, which may lead to why it has currently been buried.
I wonder why they never acknowledged this info? That leads to many questions.
It looks like the incident in 1990 is plausible and backed by at least two different sources now.
Perhaps I should try to come up with a list of accidents and see how the most recent stacks up.
Also, does anyone know what the longest time period is that someone has survived above 20,000 ft? Wilco’s survival is quite amazing, but I am not sure that he was that high for that amount of time. He could have very well been a bit lower for a day or two of the saga. I am just trying to find some perspective here, so at least I am clear on the facts.
I appreciate you guys helping me out.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Wilco was at Camp 4 wasn’t he? I suspect we won’t have a forensic understanding of what happened for quite a while yet. There is a huge amount of varying opinions and conjecture still. As macabre as it sounds, and as sad as this is, I will be fascinated to understand the sequence of events.
(The USSR may have been reluctant to acknowedge the 1990 tragedy on Pamir for propaganda reasons perhaps).
August 6th, 2008 at 12:39 am
After putting this question to a few friends, I have actually been led to more information on the 1952 Soviet Expedition.
This expedition, if it indeed happened, involved only six climbers, not 40. There is some information on this incident, but likewise, nothing has ever been found to suggest this took place. All parties deny it. What would be interesting to do, since the name of the leading guide on this expedition is given, is trace his name back and see if he disappeared during this timeline.
The Russian Expedition is a curious mystery, one that I don’t think has been touched on much. I might work on this a bit and see what I come up with.
Supposedly the Russians were trying to make a quick assault for the top of Everest before the British Expedition in 1953. They wanted to be first. That is very plausible and it could very-well have happened. There’s just not any proof.
No matter how you look at it, it looks like the 1990 climbing tragedy may be the worst ever documented in history. The recent K2 tragedy doesn’t even come close. Though it is large in size, there have been others involving many more people.
Cheers-
Jason A. Hendricks
The Adventurist
August 6th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Wilco was actually trapped above the bottleneck with Marco and Gerard McDonnell. On August 2nd, I reported that Wilco van Rooijens had made a SAT phone call which was traced to somewhere between Camps III and IV. Just as I was getting ready to post that piece, I was sent some breaking news that Wilco had walked in to Camp III.
August 1st, word came down that the K2 tragedy had happened. That an ice serac had broke loose trapping many of the climbers. We have to remember that Pakistan is at least 12 hours ahead of the U.S.. When Wilco emerged in Camp III, it would have been August 3rd, in Pakistan. Camp three is located at 7,350 meters. Camp IV lies at 8,000 meters. Given that three feet is equal to a meter, Camp III would be at roughly 22,050 feet. Does that make any sense?
August 6th, 2008 at 1:01 am
[...] It’s Official: 11 Climbers Perish On K2 In One Of Mountaineering’s Most Deadly Accidents [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Hey Jason, nice job on the flashback 1990 article this morning and a touching tribute to the lost climbers.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Rob-
Thanks for the kind words. I actually learned quite a bit through the discussions here and the research. I put the question to a group of friends I have who are quite familiar with Mountaineering and Everest History–some of them had heard of the 1952 ordeal, but, likewise, nothing much to go on. Adventurer John Gluckman contacted me and pointed to to the Polish Mountaineering Society, which i have yet to contact, but that could work in to more details, as well. It was quite interesting with John’s email though..he said he had just gotten back from doing some no-gravity flights in Vegas…haha. I bet that was fun.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:04 pm