The families of three missing climbers Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Jon Snorri and Juan Pablo Mohr said they have made the difficult decision to proceed with their rescue mission after “72 gruelling hours of non-stop intensive efforts” that were halted the day before due to bad weather, Dawn reported.
Born on 2 February 1976, Sadpara has been described as a naturally talented and humble climber.
He hails from a village called Sadpara, near Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
The three mountaineers were on a mission to ascent K2 peak in winter when they went missing on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the families of the three climbers issued a statement thanking everyone for their support and expressing the hope that the mission can resume within the shortest timeframe possible.
Imtiaz, Ali Sadpara’s cousin, said in his message: “Ali is a brother to us. A hero for Pakistan. We will climb as high as we can within our limits. There is hope, but we know the reality of the mountain, especially in winter.”
An official told Dawn that no decision had been taken as yet to call off the rescue mission.
“It depends on weather conditions at K2. If the weather remains stable tomorrow, the search operation will continue,” he said.
“A decision to call off the operation and declaring the climbers dead will be a testing moment. The families of the three climbers will be consulted before making a decision.”
“We would like to thank everyone who expressed interest in Jon, Ali and JP’s climb, and to those who expressed concern for their well being, those who offered to help (especially Alex Găvan) and those who prayed for their safety and offered ideas and thoughts on the use of drones and search locations. We heard you and appreciate the care, concern and compassion you showed,” the press release said.