Tragedy on the almost eight-thousander Gasherbrum IV in the Karakoram in Pakistan: Five Russian mountaineers who had set out to recover the body of their compatriot Dmitry Golovchenko, who died in an accident a year ago, were hit by an ice avalanche. “As the team ascended the mountain, an ice formation, possibly a serac, collapsed, unleashing a catastrophic event. The unforgiving nature of Gasherbrum IV, known for its hazardous terrain, turned their noble mission into a fight for survival,” wrote Karrar Haidri, President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), in a press release.
Nilov missing, two critically injured
Sergey Nilov is missing, continued the head of the Pakistani mountaineering association. Two other Russian climbers in the group had been seriously injured, Haidri informed. “Their condition is critical, and there is little hope that they will survive beyond the next day, casting a further shadow over the already grim situation.”
The Pakistani army launched a rescue operation. Two Russian climbers were flown by helicopter to Skardu for medical treatment. Apparently, these two were able to get to safety after the avalanche and raised the alarm. According to Haidri, a helicopter search was to be launched today for Nilov and the two seriously injured men. In addition to Nilov, the Russian team included Mikhail Mironov, Alexy Bautin, Sergei Mironov and Evgeni Lablokov.
Tragedy 2023: Golovchenko fell to his death
In summer 2023, Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov had attempted to climb the 7,932-meter-high Gasherbrum IV in alpine style – i.e. without high porters, without bottled oxygen, without fixed ropes and without fixed camps – via the unclimbed Southeast Ridge. 250 meters below the summit, Golovchenko fell to his death while sitting in his tent. At the time of the accident, Nilov had been trying to secure the tent in the steep terrain.
After his rope partner fell, Nilov had abseiled down and found his friend dead on a plateau at around 7,000 meters. He had wrapped the body in the remains of the tent and continued his descent. Nilov had reached base camp with severe frostbite. Now he probably did not survive the attempt to recover his friend’s body.
“This tragedy underscores the harsh and unpredictable dangers of high-altitude mountaineering, where even the best-prepared expeditions can face life-threatening challenges,” writes ACP President Haidri.
Update 19 August: The two injured Russian mountaineers Sergey and Mikhail Mironov were located yesterday at an altitude of around 6,200 metres. They have a tent and food. Weather permitting, the rescue team should reach them on Tuesday morning local time. They will then be flown to Skardu. This is reported by the Russian mountaineering portal mountain.ru. Nilov’s body was also spotted from the helicopter, it said.
Update 20 August: The rescue team brought the two injured climbers down to the Advanced Base Camp at 6,100 meters today. From there, they will be flown out by helicopter as soon as the weather is fine – if not today, then tomorrow morning local time.
Update 21 August: Due to bad weather, the evacuation has been delayed, probably until Thursday.
