The bodies of climbers Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr were found on K2, over five months after they went missing, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Information Minister said on Monday.
GB Minister Fatahullah Khan said the first body was discovered at 9am today which was identified as Snorri’s because of the yellow and black clothes that he was believed to be wearing during the expedition.
The second body was spotted at 12pm, he said. All of them were spotted 400 metres away from the bottleneck at K2. Khan said all three bodies were found by an expedition led by Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sadpara.
The minister said that the digging process to reach the bodies was underway and Army Aviation was on standby. “The army and government are on alert,” he said, adding that they would be notified as soon as the expedition reached the bodies.
A focal person from the army had informed the government that the body in yellow and black clothes was Snorri’s. “The most authentic person to identify would be Sajid Sadpara who was with them (the three climbers) when they started their expedition on Feb 5,” he added.
What happened to Sadpara?
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, along with two colleagues – John Snorri Sigurjónsson from Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto from Chile – were declared dead on Feb 18, nearly two weeks after they went missing on the ‘Savage Mountain’.
Sadpara, Snorri and Juan Pablo went missing on K2 on February 5 while attempting an unprecedented winter ascent without supplemental oxygen. K2 had never been scaled in winter until only last month when a Nepalese team accomplished the feat.
The trio was last seen near Bottleneck – the most treacherous trek of K2 – by Sajid Sadpara, who was also part of the expedition but had to give up after his oxygen tank malfunctioned.
Following Sadpara’s death, the Gilgit-Baltistan government had announced Rs3 million for his family and a suitable job for his son.
It also approved the establishment of Muhammad Ali Sadpara Institute of Adventure Sports Mountaineering and Rock Climbing in recognition of his services.
