12/08/2024
ุฅููููุง ูููููููฐูู ููุฅููููุง ุฅููููููู ุฑูุงุฌูุนูููู,
Iโm heartbroken to share that Murad Sadpara is no longer with us. He was hit by a rock on his head (although he was wearing a helmet too) during descend and was close to ABC. The climber who rescued many others and brought down Hassan Shigriโs body from K2 bottleneck is lost too soon, he was only 33 years old and leaves behind 4 children ๐.
The Army helicopter deployed two more climbers this morning, dropping them at Broad Peak. The climbers will attempt to bring Murad back down to basecamp and helicopter will also try to bring Murad back to Skardu today.
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported this cause, raised their voices, and prayed for Murad. Special thanks to selfless climbers Dilawar Sadpara, Akber Hussein, Zakir and Ashraf Sadpara for volunteering to bring Murad down. Also many thanks to Anwar Syed for sending Manzoor and Basharat Hussein from his Broadpeak team for help.
A special thank you to the Army for their efforts in transporting four climbers to Broad Peak. I truly appreciate the support from the officials at GHQ and FCNA. However, I must highlight a critical issue: valuable time was lost over the past two days due to administrative delays. This time could have been better spent, and perhaps if we had reached Murad sooner, todayโs news might have been different.
Helicopter rescues are one of the biggest challenges faced by mountaineers in Pakistan. The helicopters are military-owned, and any support provided is on a humanitarian basis. While Askari Aviation offers private helicopter services, they use Army helicopters too and the cost is significantly higher than in other countries.
Moving forward, we urgently need to:
1) Revise the SOPs for handling such incidents to avoid future delays. We must ensure that the right people are contacted immediately to prevent any waste of time.
2) Obtain an NOC for a private helicopter service (run by retired Army pilots if needed keeping area sensitivity in mind) or Askari to purchase a private helicopter. This would allow us to have our own helicopters and establish flexible SOPs, reducing our reliance on military resources. Ensure the cost is reasonable and not exorbitant like the current price
naila kiyani
