A Pakistan Army helicopter has reached the base camp to rescue Pakistani mountaineer Asif Bhatti trapped in Nanga Parbat Camp IV.
45-year-old Asif Bhatti, a mountaineer from Lahore, Pakistan, was trapped in Nanga Parbat Camp IV, he was a victim of snow blindness in Camp IV located at an altitude of 26,000 meters during the 8126-meter-high Killer Mountain Nanga Parbat Adventure.
Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) Secretary General Karar Haideri said that Asif Bhatti was trapped in Camp IV, which is 7,500 to 8,000 meters high, due to low visibility due to snow.
A heli mission was launched on July 3 seeking help from army aviation to rescue mountaineer Asif Bhatti, but the operation was postponed after nightfall as the helicopter could not reach an altitude of 8,000 meters.
Karar Haideri said a helicopter would be needed to evacuate them, but for that they would have to come down to an altitude of 6,500 to 6,000.
Asif Bhatti left for Camp III with Azerbaijani climber Israfil. As soon as they arrive at Camp II, they will be shifted to the base camp by army helicopter.
Pakistani mountaineer Asif Bhatti was stuck in Camp IV for the last 14 hours. Dr. Asif Bhatti spent the night alone at an altitude of about 8,000 meters. Asif Bhatti is a university professor and was close to scaling the peak but is stuck.
Karar Haideri said that Asif Bhatti along with other mountaineers Lt Col (retd) Dr Jabbar Bhatti, Dr. Naveed, Saad Muhammad and Faheem Pasha had started the expedition a few days ago to climb the peak, but other members of his team have not yet started their journey.
Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest peak in the world and is also called Killer Mountain. It is one of the five most dangerous peaks in the world
On Sunday, 52 climbers, including 11 Pakistanis, climbed Nanga Parbat.
