Poland’s Tomasz Mackiewicz and French Elisabeth Revol were attempting to ascend the 8,126-metre ‘Killer Mountain’
Pakistan’s Military operation underway in a bid to rescue a group of Poland’s mountaineer women and the French man, who got stuck at world’s 9th tallest peaks located in northwestern Pakistan.
Poland’s Tomasz Mackiewicz and France’s Elisabeth Revol are reportedly stuck in Pakistan’s 7,400 metres above sea level on the 8,126-metre tall Nanga Parbat located in Himalaya mountain range mostly known as “Killer Mountain” to the climbers.
Pakistan Army starts rescue operation today to save foreign tourists, But bad weather is hampering efforts to reach the pair as temperatures have dropped to -60C where the climbers were last seen.
The foreigner mountaineers were attempting to summit Nanga Parbat, last time they were spotted from base camp as they struggled to descend the 8,126m (26,660ft) mountain.
A fund-raising campaign was launched immediately to deal with the costs of this rescue operation, and a few minutes ago the Polish Minister for Sport and Tourism Witold Bańka tweeted that his government will cover the costs of the rescue operation.
The tweet is Polish language but it says that the Tourism Ministry approved to cover the costs of the rescue operation and financial guarantees, the Pakistani army is preparing an action. #NangaParbat
MSZ wydał zgodę na pokrycie kosztów akcji ratunkowej i gwarancje finansowe, wojsko pakistańskie szykuje akcję. #NangaParbat
— Witold Bańka (@WitoldBanka) January 26, 2018
According to a crowdfunding appeal to finance the USD 50,000 rescue mission, Poland’s Tomasz Mackiewicz is reportedly in critical condition and has been suffered snow blindness and frostbite.
Karim Shah, a local climber and other team members including a doctor will assist in the rescue operation from their base camp and flies them to the last spotted location of Nanga Parbat.
Yesterday, spokesman for the Pakistan Alpine Federation Karrar Haidri, said four volunteers would be airlifted in a military helicopter to base camp at 4300m above sea level, if the weather allowed today, before climbing to 7,000m to reach the stranded pair.
Karrar Haidri further said, “We have no contact now with Tomasz,” said Janusz Majer, who helped prepare the Polish expedition team currently scaling K2, adding that messages sent by Revol said Mackiewicz was suffering from snow blindness and frostbite.
was nicknamed “killer mountain” after more than 30 climbers died trying to conquer it before the first successful summit in 1953. In July last year, a Spaniard and an Argentinian were presumed dead after they went missing while trying to summit Nanga Parbat.