KHAPLU, GILGIT-BALTISTAN: A 64-year-old Japanese climber, who summited the 7,027-meter high Spantik “Golden Peak” mountain earlier this week, was found dead in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region on Wednesday, officials confirmed.
Japanese mountaineer Onishi Hiroshi fell into a crevasse, a deep crack formed in glaciers or ice sheets, while descending from Camp II of the Spantik mountain on Tuesday, Nagar district’s Deputy Commissioner Ata ur Rehman Kakar said.
Kakar said Hiroshi was part of a four-member team of Japanese climbers and two Pakistani porters, who summited Golden Peak on July 1.
“The dead body has been recovered and the deceased identified as 64-year-old Japanese climber Onishi Hiroshi,” Kakar told Arab News. “The body has safely been brought to Camp I. The other three Japanese climbers are safe.”
In June, two Japanese climbers went missing during their attempt to summit the same peak. The body of Ryuseki Hiraoka, 55, was found 300 meters below Camp 3 while authorities were unable to locate the second climber, 36-year-old Atsushi Taguchi.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s tallest mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including the K2 and Nanga Parbat mountains, known for their treacherous climbs.
Spantik, more popularly called the Golden Peak due to a distinct golden hue cast upon it at sunrise, is largely viewed as more accessible for climbers.
Several climbers die in Pakistan every year while trying to reach the summit of some of the world’s highest mountains, including K2, which is in Pakistan’s north.
