February 5, 2021: Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara embarked on an expedition to conquer an 8,611-metre high K2 in winter, along with fellow climbers John Snorri, and JP Mohr.
The management posted an update on Twitter, revealing that the team had left for the ‘final summit attack’.
February 6, 2021: Ali Sadpara, Snorri, and Mohr were officially declared missing, according to reports by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and the expedition’s manager, Chhang Dawa Sherpa.
Alpine Adventure Guides, a Twitter account based on the expedition’s updates, stated that contact had been lost with the three climbers and that rescue helicopters had started their search. Muhammad Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Ali Sadpara left the camp and started his descend.
“For search and rescue mission, the pilot has been instructed to take the flight up as maximum as possible. It’s very low temperature with 35+ KM wind above 6500m. At the basecamp, we have prepared oxygen bottles, food, masks, and regulators for the climbers,” read the tweet.
Pakistani President Dr. Arif Alvi called the climbers ‘brave mountaineers’ and hoped for their safe return.
February 7, 2021: On Sunday, the search operation for Pakistan’s globally renowned mountaineer Sadpara and his two compatriots resumed.
Pakistan Army’s 5th Squadron helicopter had been flying towards K2 for a significant amount of time, carrying out the search and rescue operation once again. In addition to this, Chhang Dawa Sherpa, expedition manager of the K2 base camp, stated that they would be ready at K2 base camp to go as high as possible to look for the missing climbers.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa began to personally oversee the developments, said Special Assistant to PM, Zulfi Bukhari.
the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khalid Khursheed said that the search operation to safely retrieve Sadpara and his companions was underway and that the government would use each and every resource at its disposal to bring back the ‘national hero.’
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi assured his Icelandic counterpart Gudlaugur Thórdarson that Pakistan would spare no effort to find missing mountaineer John Snorri and will extend all possible support in this regard.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa also expressed concern over the missing mountaineers. Search and rescue operations resumed on Sunday morning through Lama helicopters.
February 8, 2021: Officials revealed that chances of survival at an altitude of over 8000 meters are enormously low and that a normal human body can survive in the death zone of K2 for approximately 20 hours.
Sadpara, along with the other climbers, has been missing for over 60 hours.
Sajid Ali, Ali Sadpara’s son, arrived in Skardu on Sunday, discussing matters related to his father’s operation.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa, revealed today, that the rescue team was able to make search flights covering 7000 meters, with two Army helicopters and with the assistance of the army aviation’s squadron pilots.
“Lakpa Dendi and I went through the areas that we were aware of to locate the missing climbers Ali, John Snorri, and Juan Pablo Mohr in K2. We had less visibility as the upper mountain was covered with clouds. For the last three days, the pilots did a great job, exceeding their limits, but we can’t find any clues there,” he stated.
“The team is waiting for permissible weather and a greater search possibility. We are grateful and thankful to the Pakistani Army, Pakistan’s Foreign Office, MFA Iceland, Simone Moro, Venessa O’Brien, and all the ground admin team for their support,” he added.
The search and rescue operation to look for Ali Sadpara and other climbers was called off, later today, on account of unsuitable weather conditions.
