GILGIT: On Tuesday, two Russian climbers who had been stuck at 6,400 meters above sea level for more than three days were rescued from Gasherbrum IV.
At 6,000 meters on Tuesday, a five-person rescue crew was able to successfully lower the climbers to the advance base camp.
The climbers are anticipated to be airlifted to Skardu by Army Aviation helicopters today (Wednesday).
The Russian climbers’ tour operator claimed that the two mountaineers likely fractured their arms and legs in addition to other injuries. But now they are safe from harm.
A snow avalanche struck the climbers Mikhail and Sergei Mironov, who were part of a five-person team trying to reach the summit of the peak, on Saturday at an elevation of 6,400 meters.
Two climbers, Alexy Bautin and Evgeni Lablokov, were unharmed and were eventually rescued by the army and transported to Skardu on Sunday. The two injured climbers became stuck.
The rescued climbers informed Dawn on Tuesday that their missing partner, Sergei Nilov, had passed away.
The goal of the five climbers’ quest was to find the remains of their compatriot, Dmitry Golovchenko, who vanished on the peak in 2023.
Mission of rescue
Since helicopters are unable to land and hover beyond 6,000 meters, the five-person rescue team—four local climbers, Yousuf Ali, Muhammad Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Younus, and Mr. Lablokov—was dropped by Army Aviation helicopters on Sunday at an altitude of 6,000 meters.
Early on Monday morning, the rescue crew began ascending to reach the stranded climbers at 6,4000m.
The climbers were successfully approached by the rescuers, who gave them food and other supplies despite the inclement weather, wind, and snowfall.
After that, they were taken to 6,000 meters, where climbers could use a tent and other amenities.
The inclement weather prevented the Army Aviation helicopters from airlifting the climbers from the advance base camp on Tuesday, even though they were scheduled to take off from Skardu.
