ISLAMABAD: The mountaineer’s team rejected claims that they climbed over a dying Pakistani porter, Muhammad Hassan, to become the world’s fastest climbers on K2’s summit.
Images and videos recently surfaced showing climbers passing by Muhammad Hassan after he had fallen from a steep edge at approximately 8,200 meters. Kristin Harila, a team leader of climbers, informs the Telegraph. Her team made every effort to rescue Hassan, but the condition seemed “too precarious” for a successful evacuation.
Austrian mountaineers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flamig, present on K2 that day, captured footage with a drone that depicted climbers walking over Hassan’s body instead of attempting a rescue. Flamig informed Austria’s Standard newspaper that while one person was attending to Hassan, others were pushing onward to the summit, despite available mountain guides.
Steindl stated, “Hassan was treated with a lack of consideration.” He personally visited Hassan’s family and uncovered that Hassan had taken on the role of a rope fixer without experience to cover his diabetic mother’s medical expenses.
Additionally, Harila refuted the allegations on Thursday and asserted that her team had done everything possible to save Hassan. She stated, “The claim that we did nothing is false. We attempted for an hour and a half to lift him back up, and my cameraman attended to him for an additional hour. We never left him unattended.”
However, She explained that Hassan fell in one of the most treacherous sections of the mountain, where the narrow trail and adverse snow conditions limited the feasibility of carrying him to safety. Harila noted that Hassan appeared to lack gloves, a jacket, and access to oxygen.
