Body of porter Muhammad Hassan airlifted from K2 basecamp

GILGIT: The Pakistan Army Aviation successfully airlifted the body of porter Muhammad Hassan from the advance base camp of K2 to Dassu, near his village Tissar, on Thursday.

A team of high-altitude porters made history by successfully retrieving the body of Muhammad Hassan Shigri from the Bottleneck of the world’s second highest peak to advance base camp on Wednesday. The retrieval operation, which marked the first time a body was retrieved from such a high altitude, concluded a year of criticism and emotional turmoil surrounding Hassan’s tragic death.

Muhammad Hassan’s death last year at the bottleneck, an infamous narrow path on K2 at 8,200 meters, sparked widespread criticism. According to videos and photos circulating on social media at the time, Hassan fell ill during the ascent and was allegedly left to die by a group of climbers who continued their climb after he fell off a ledge. The porter reportedly died a few hours later.

Following his death, Hassan’s body was buried near the bottleneck until a determined group of climbers, led by an ace mountaineer, undertook a challenging three-day mission to retrieve his body and bring it to the advance base camp. Recognizing the urgency due to the body’s frozen state and the risk of decomposition from rising temperatures, the team requested Army Aviation Authorities for assistance.

The military pilots of Askari Aviation, who exclusively provide helicopter services in Pakistan, responded to the call. On Thursday, Naila Kiani shared an update on the mission, confirming that the body was successfully airlifted from the advance base camp and dropped at Dassu, near Hassan’s home village.

“We really appreciate the Army’s effort to go out of their way to pick up the body from the advance base camp and drop it at Dassu on a humanitarian basis free of cost,” said Naila Kiani, highlighting the Army’s invaluable contribution to the mission.

Search for Russian climber’s body at Gasherbrum-IV

In a similar development, Russian climber Sergey Nilov is returning to search for the body of his partner Dmitry Golovchenko, who died last year at Gasherbrum-IV. Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov from Russia were attempting an alpine-style ascent of Gasherbrum IV, which stands at an altitude of 7,925 meters in the Ghanche district, when Golovchenko suffered a fatal fall from 7,684 meters. Sergey Nilov safely returned to the base camp; however, Golovchenko’s body was not recovered at the time.

Gasherbrum IV summit: One Russian climber rescued, another feared dead

“The team led by Sergey Nilov is heading to Karakorum to search for Dmitry Golovchenko’s body,” said mountaineering operator Russian Climb in a post on X.

In a brief chat with HUM News, Blue Sky Treks & Tours CEO Ghulam Muhammad confirmed, saying that a five-member team will arrive in Islamabad tonight.