Iftikhar Hussain, a seasoned high-altitude porter from Sadpara, Skardu, tragically lost his life when an avalanche struck Camp 1 on K2 — the world’s second-highest peak at 8,611 meters — on Friday around 12:30 pm. The avalanche caught four members of an international climbing expedition returning from Camp 2 during their rotation for the summit attempt.
While Hussain’s body was recovered and is being airlifted back to Skardu today with the assistance of the Pakistan Army Aviation on humanitarian grounds, a foreign climber sustained minor injuries. Two other climbers managed to return safely to the Advance Base Camp.
The team included Nepalese climbers Dawa Finjo Sherpa and Dawa Geljen Sherpa, along with fellow porter Niaz Ali from Skardu.
K2 remains a challenging and dangerous mountain despite the increasing number of climbers, with Gilgit-Baltistan authorities having issued 175 climbing permits last summer. The incident is a stark reminder of the risks involved in high-altitude mountaineering.
This tragedy follows another recent fatality earlier this month, when Czech climber Klára Kolouchová died after falling into a ravine near Nanga Parbat’s base camp during a multinational expedition, emphasizing the ongoing hazards faced by climbers in the region.