Rescuers call off efforts to save Polish climber missing on 'killer mountain' Nanga Parbat

Published January 28, 2018
Members of the Polish K2 expedition heading to take part in a rescue mission of French climber Elisabeth Revol and Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz in Nanga Parbat. —AFP
Members of the Polish K2 expedition heading to take part in a rescue mission of French climber Elisabeth Revol and Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz in Nanga Parbat. —AFP

Volunteers were able to rescue a French mountaineer from Nanga Parbat but called off efforts to retrieve a Polish climber ─ both of whom have been missing since Thursday ─ who has now been declared deceased, an official said Sunday.

Two Pakistan Army helicopters began an operation Saturday on the request of the Polish and French embassies to rescue the two European mountain climbers after they got stuck while trying to summit the 8,126-meter-tall Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest peak in the world.

Karrar Haidri, a top official in the Pakistan Alpine Federation, said the four volunteer rescuers from a separate Polish expedition were airlifted to the Nanga Parbat base camp and dropped close to the two stranded climbers ─ Tomasz Mackiewicz of Poland and Elisabeth Revol of France.

Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz in Nanga Parbat. —AFP
Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz in Nanga Parbat. —AFP

He had said the volunteers had spotted the two mountaineers, and were climbing to 7,000 meters above sea level to try to reach them.

However, they were unable to reach Mackiewicz, who is suffering from snow blindness and altitude sickness, because of poor weather.

Haidri said the rescuers are in the process of transferring Revol, who has frostbite on her feet and cannot walk, to a nearby town. Earlier today, he had said the local weather was bad, with temperatures at -60 degrees Celsius at the height where the climbers are stuck.

The rescuers brought Revol down the mountain to a helicopter Sunday, and she will be taken to Skardu and then Islamabad for medical treatment, according to Ludovic Giambiasi, a friend who is posting regular updates on Facebook. He thanked Polish and French diplomats for their help.

"The rescue of Tomasz is unfortunately not possible because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of the rescuers in extreme danger," Giambiasi wrote. "It's a terrible and painful decision. We are in deep sadness. All our thoughts go out to Tomek's family and friends. We are crying."

The French consul in Islamabad is following the rescue operation closely and is in touch with Revol's family, who are currently in France, a French official said on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to be named publicly.

Revol's friends raised some 60,000 euros to help with the rescue operation through crowdfunding online, according to French media reports.

Later Saturday, Polish media, which have followed the developments closely, reported that Revol had been found alive, citing tweets by a friend and other sources. She had frostbite on her feet, could not walk and the operation to get her off the mountain was expected to be difficult.

A day earlier, Mackiewicz's sister was quoted in Polish media as saying it would be a miracle if he survives.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

THE Punjab government would be keen to forget its first year of treating smog as ‘a year-round epidemic’ instead...
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.