Chinese climber killed in rockfall on K2 during descent

GILGIT: A Chinese woman mountaineer, Guan Jing, died on Tuesday night after being struck by falling rocks while descending from the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) confirmed on Wednesday.

This marks the third deadly incident on Pakistani peaks this season. On July 19, 2025, a local climber, Muhammad Iftikhar Hussain, lost his life after an avalanche struck during an expedition to K2 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Earlier on June 4, renowned Czech mountaineer Klára Kolouchová died during her expedition on Nanga Parbat (8,125m), also known as the “Killer Mountain.”

“The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp — a section notorious for frequent rockfalls. Guan had reached the summit on Monday with a group of climbers before beginning her descent,” ACP Vice President Karrar Haidri said in a statement.

He said that recovery efforts for her body are ongoing, while other climbers who also summited K2 that day are now safely returning to base camp. In total, more than 27 climbers reached the top of K2 on Monday. She was part of the 15-member team from Imagine Nepal that reached the top of the peak at 15:32 PM Pakistan time on August 11, 2025.

This was the third deadly incident in Gilgit-Baltistan during the current climbing season. On July 28, former German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier perished on Lailla Peak (6,096m) in the Hushe Valley of Ghanche district after being struck by rockfall at 5,700 meters.

Earlier in July, two other fatal accidents occurred – on July 18, Pakistani climber Muhammad Iftikhar Hussain from Skardu lost his life when an avalanche struck Camp 1 on K2, about 500 meters above base camp.

The avalanche caught four climbers, including two Nepalese Sherpas, with one foreign climber sustaining minor injuries while two others returned safely. Just two weeks prior on July 4, renowned Czech mountaineer Klára Kolouchová, 46, fell to her death between Camp I and Camp II during her expedition on Nanga Parbat (8,125m), infamously known as the “Killer Mountain.”