ISLAMABAD: In a daring operation, Pakistan Army’s pilots rescued foreign mountaineers who were hit by an avalanche at more than 19,000 feet high Ultar Sar Peak near Hunza, informed the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, in a Twitter message on Sunday.
The army team managed to rescue two British climbers, Bruce Normand and Timothy Miller, and recovered the body of their third team member, who succumbed to injuries sustained in the avalanche, said the military spokesperson.
Pakistan Army pilots in a daring mission rescued 3 foreign mountaineers stuck in snow avalanche at above 19000 feet high Ultar Sar Peak near Hunza. Bruce Normand & Miller Timothy from UK successfully rescued alive while Christian Huber from Austria had succumbed to avalanche. pic.twitter.com/z0OyaCE63H
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) July 1, 2018
Christian Huber died when the calamity struck Saturday some 5,900 meters up Ultar Sar Mountain.
“The dead mountaineer was a citizen of Austria,” local police confirmed.
Pakistan is home to some of the tallest peaks in the world and attracts international mountaineers in huge numbers.
While Ultar Sar does not present the fiercest climbing challenge, unlike some of the mammoth mountains that are more than 8,000 meters high it can still be tough and is not immune to the risk of snowslide.