Another Japanese mountaineer killed in northern Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

Another Japanese mountaineer was killed Wednesday in northern Pakistan, weeks after two of his countrymen died on the same peak, according to an official.

Onishi Hiroshi, 64, fell into a crevasse while descending Tuesday from the 7,027-meter (23,054-foot) Spantik mountain, Karrar Haidri, secretary-general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the country's official mountaineering association, told Anadolu.

Hiroshi and three other Japanese mountaineers began their climbs on June 10, supported by Pakistani porters.

His body was recovered by a fellow climber and a porter.

Two Japanese climbers, Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi were declared dead while descending the Spantik mountain without porters last month.

Formerly known as the Northern Area and once part of the erstwhile Pakistan-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan is home to five peaks taller than 8,000 meters, including K2, the world's second-highest mountain.

Several mountaineers have been killed in recent years while attempting to ascend the treacherous mountains.

A Japanese climber was killed last August and another injured during an expedition in the region.

Iconic Pakistani climber Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland's John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr were all killed in July 2021 while attempting to summit the 8,611-meter K2.