A Chinese mountaineer, Guan Jing, died on Tuesday night after being hit by falling rocks while descending from the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest peak.
The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp — a section notorious for frequent rockfalls. Guan had reached the summit on Monday with a group of climbers before beginning her descent.
Recovery efforts for her body are ongoing, while other climbers who also summited K2 that day are now returning safely to base camp. In total, more than 30 climbers reached the top of K2 on Monday.
Last month, a Pakistani climber has died after an avalanche struck near Camp 1 on K2, the country’s highest peak.
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), the avalanche affected four climbers in total. Two climbers managed to return safely to base camp, while one foreign mountaineer suffered minor injuries.
However, Iftikhar Hussain Sadpara, a climber from Skardu, lost his life in the incident. His body was recovered and brought back to base camp shortly after the incident.
A renowned climber from the Czech Republic, Klara Kolouchova, had also lost her life during the expedition of Nanga Parbat after falling from the mountain between Camp 1 and 2 last month.
Kolouchova was the first Czech woman to summit both Everest and K2, two of the world’s tallest peaks.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000 meters, including K2 which is considered a more difficult ascent than Everest, earning it the nickname “Savage Mountain”.
