K2 search: Three mountaineers, including one of Pakistan’s most famous climbers, declared dead

Searches will continue with the bodies of the three climbers not yet recovered

Sajid Sadpara with John Snorri, from Iceland, and Muhammad Ali Sadpara, from Pakistan, pictured before their ascent to K2 on 3 February (screengrab/ John Snorri facebook)

Pakistan’s world-renowned mountain climber Mohammad Ali Sadpara and two other mountaineers who went missing on the world’s second highest peak earlier this month have now officially been declared dead.

“K2 has embraced my father forever,” said Sajid Sadpara, son of celebrated Pakistani climber Sadpara, 45, while addressing a press conference called by Gilgit Baltistan’s tourism ministry and the family of the climber.

The climbers accompanying Sadpara were John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile. The news that all three are considered dead brings closure to another tragedy in the history of mountaineering.

On 5 February, the three climbers went missing after losing contact with base camp at a height of 8,000 metres on K2, referred to as Pakistan’s “Killer Mountain”.

Sadpara was an experienced climber and the only Pakistani to climb eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. He made history with the first ever winter summit of Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest peak.

He began his ascent on K2 on 3 February along with his 20-year-old son Sajid. The climber asked his son to descend after the oxygen tank they were carrying malfunctioned from a spot called the Bottleneck, considered to be one of the toughest points on the climb.

Mr Sadpara called his father a “national hero” and thanked people for the outpouring of love and support the family has received.

“Pakistan has lost a brave and celebrated climber, while our family has lost a loving and caring head and a great adventurous individual who was passionate about the Pakistani flag to the point of insanity,” an emotional Mr Sadpara said.

K2, in the Karakoram range, is the world’s second highest peak after Everest at a height of 8,611m (28,250ft). K2 had never been scaled during winter until last month when a Nepalese team reached the peak, days before Sadpara’s ascent.

The loss of Sadpara was heavily mourned in Pakistan, as people criticised the government for not recognising his talents during his lifetime.

The team supporting Snorri, whose Facebook description still reads “currently attempting to be the first to conquer K2 in winter”, also released a statement on Thursday on his account.

It announced that based on the timing of the last known contact with Snorri’s telephone they were “confident that all three men made it to the top of K2” and something went wrong during the descent.

“John’s Snorri’s family would like to extend gratitude to the authorities of Pakistan, Chile and Iceland for their devotion and efforts for finding our loved ones,” the statement read.

Pakistan had launched an aerial search to find the missing climbers on 5 February but bad weather conditions repeatedly forced the military helicopters to turn back. The rescue mission was called off officially on Thursday, but the region’s tourism minister said the search for their bodies will continue.

“All the weather experts, climbers and experts from the Pakistan army have reached the conclusion that a human being cannot live for that long in such harsh weather. That’s why we are announcing that they are no more,” said minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan.

Sadpara’s son promised to “carry on his dreams and mission” and continue to walk in his footsteps.