Two Russian climbers stranded on Gasherbrum IV rescued

GILGIT: Two critically injured Russian climbers stranded on Gasherbrum IV (7,925 meters) were successfully rescued and brought down to the advanced base camp on Tuesday, three days after an avalanche struck their expedition team.

A five-member Russian expedition was attempting to scale the 17th highest mountain on earth in alpine style when an avalanche struck at an altitude of 6,200 to 6,400 meters. One climber is still missing, while two others were rescued earlier.

Ghulam Muhammad, CEO of Blue Sky Treks & Tours, the expedition organizer, confirmed the rescue of the injured climbers and added that they are now out of immediate danger. “The army aviation helicopter is ready to fly out for them. Unfortunately, harsh weather conditions today prevented the helicopter from taking off. We plan to evacuate them tomorrow morning as soon as we get a weather window,” Ghulam Muhammad told HUM News English.

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The fate of the third climber, Sergey Nilov, remains uncertain. Ghulam Muhammad, quoting one of the rescued Russian climbers, said, “When they were flying back to Skardu, they noticed some traces of Sergey Nilov. However, due to heavy snowfall and poor visibility, rescuers have been unable to locate him today.”

The expedition, consisting of climbers Sergey Nilov, Alexey Bautin, Mikhail Mironov, Sergey Mironov, and Evgeny Yablokov, set off for Gasherbrum IV in early August to scale the peak and search for the body of Dmitry Golovchenko. Golovchenko tragically died on August 31 while attempting the same peak with Nilov in alpine style. Nilov had to descend the treacherous route alone, rappelling down 15 difficult pitches after Golovchenko fell to his death.

The current tragedy unfolded on August 17, when Nilov, Mikhail Mironov, and Sergey Mironov were working on an icefall. A collapse occurred, resulting in the loss of contact with Nilov and leaving Mikhail and Sergey Mironov injured and stranded. The other two members of the team, Evgeny Yablokov and Alexey Bautin, who were at a lower camp at the time of the accident, were unharmed and were evacuated to Skardu for medical treatment on Monday by a Pakistan Army helicopter.

According to the Russian Federation of Alpinism, after the collapse, Sergey Mironov and Mikhail Mironov managed to descend 100 meters and found one of their backpacks, which had been thrown aside during the incident. They later discovered Sergey Nilov’s backpack as well. These backpacks contained crucial life support supplies, including food, a burner, sleeping bags, a tent, and a first aid kit, which helped them endure their injuries for three days.