2 British mountaineers rescued, 3 left stranded on Koyo Zom peak at Chitral-GB border – Pakistan

Two British hikers have been rescued, while three others, along with a guide, are trapped and waiting to be rescued at Koyo Zom peak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, district administration officials confirmed Sunday night.

Koyo Zom is a peak located on the border between the Chitral district of KP and Gilgit-Baltistan, and is located at an altitude of 18,000 feet from sea level, officials said.

The two rescued climbers were identified as William Taylor Sim and John James Crook. Of the beached at the top are Alastair James Swinton, Thomas Michael Livingstone, Uisdean Robertson Hawthorn and a local tour guide identified as Imran.

Irfanuddin, additional commissioner of the Alto Chitral district (ADC) DawnNewsTV that the British expedition team had arrived at the Koyo Zom base camp in Upper Chitral on September 3.

He was climbing Koyo Zom in Yarkhun on Sunday when he encountered an incident around 12 noon.

"After receiving the news of the accident, a rescue operation was launched and rescue teams reached the climbers by helicopter," ADC Irfan said, adding that the two rescued mountaineers were taken to the hospital in the city of Mastuj.

He said rescued climbers are injured but in stable conditions. "One of the three trapped members of the team received head injuries," he said, referring to Swinton.

ADC Irfan said the rescue officers had tried to continue the operation to recover the three remaining mountaineers along with the guide, but could not reach them due to the bad weather and darkness that forced them to stop the search.

"According to our information, the team fell from a height of 30 meters after a climber slipped on a glacier during the hike," he said, adding that the rescue operation would resume on Monday to recover the remaining mountaineers.

Meanwhile, rescue teams have been sent on foot by the district administration, along with Chitral Scouts and police, the officer said.

In March, British climbers Tom Ballard along with Italian Daniele Nardi died while trying a route of Nanga Parbat that was never successfully completed.