Climber known for daring rescue missions dies on one of Pakistan’s tallest mountains: “A true legend”

A Pakistani climber known for taking part in high-altitude rescue missions died during a descent from one of the country’s tallest mountains, officials said Monday.

Murad Sadpara, 35, died of a wound sustained when a rock hit him on the 8,047-meter (26,400-foot) high Broad Peak in the Karakoram Range, said Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Pakistan Alpine Club.

Haidri said Sadpara began the expedition with a Portuguese climber to scale the mountain last week, but the pair had to turn back when Sadpara’s partner fell ill amid harsh weather. He said the team was returning to base camp when the rock hit Sadpara.

Haidri said a team of rescuers was dispatched to evacuate Sadpara, but he died before medical aid could reach him. His body is being brought down from the mountain, Haidri said.

“His death is a sobering reminder of the extreme risks involved in high-altitude climbing, where the line between life and death is often perilously thin,” Haidri told AFP.

Haidri did not provide details about the Portuguese climber, saying only that she was safe.

Sadpara scaled many mountains during his life, including northern Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, and the Pakistan Alpine Club called him “a true legend in the mountaineering community.”

A little more than a week before his death, Sadpara and four other teammates successfully retrieved the body of Muhammad Hassan Shigri from the extreme altitude of 8,200 meters on K2 in a mission the Alpine Club described as the first of its kind on the world’s second-highest mountain.

“He was instrumental in the recovery of Hassan Shigri’s body, showcasing his bravery and dedication,” the Pakistan Alpine Club said in a post on social media. “Please keep Murad in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

A year earlier, Sadpara was part of a team that retrieved the body of an Afghan climber from the mountain’s Camp 3, the first time a body was brought back from K2.

Five foreign climbers have fallen to their deaths in separate incidents on Pakistan mountains this summer climbing season.

The death comes about two weeks after two Austrian mountaineers died while attempting to summit a 8,200-foot peak in Italy’s Julian Alps. Officials said their bodies were dangling from their climbing ropes, still partially anchored to the mountainside, when they were found at an altitude of around 2,000 meters.

AFP contributed to this report.