The statement said the search-and-rescue mission was receiving high resolution satellite imagery that can enable it to view “areas inaccessible to helicopters because of harsh winter conditions and excessive winds." In winter, winds on K2 can blow at more than 200 kph (125 mph) and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit). In one of the deadliest mountaineering accidents ever, 11 climbers died in a single day trying to scale K2 in 2008. Together they crafted the statement thanking all those who have been assisting the search, including the Pakistani military which has been flying the helicopters, even as clouds hid the mountain and made each successive run increasingly dangerous. The family statement said of the search that, before it halted, it was “72 grueling hours of nonstop intensive search-and-rescue efforts.”The dimming hope was particularly poignant as Tuesday marks the Chilean climber Mohr's 34 birthday.

Source: Daily Sun February 09, 2021 06:56 UTC