Helicopters rescue two Dutch climbers from K-2; 11 others feared dead

Islambad: A helicopter plucked two frostbitten Dutch climbers from K-2 on Monday after an avalanche and exposure left at least 11 people missing and believed dead on the world's second-highest mountain.

One of the rescued men, Wilco Van Rooijen, blamed mistakes in preparation for the final ascent, not just the avalanche, for one of mountaineering's worst disasters as a stranded Italian climber struggled to descend low enough to reach rescuers.

K-2, which lies near Pakistan's northern border with China, is regarded by mountaineers as more challenging to conquer than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. K-2 is steeper, rockier and more prone to sudden, severe weather.

Van Rooijen said several expeditions waited through July for good weather to scale K-2 and decided to go for the summit when winds dropped on Friday. In all, about two dozen climbers made the ascent, officials said.

The Ministry of Tourism released a list of 11 climbers believed dead: three South Koreans, two Nepalis, two Pakistanis and mountaineers from France, Ireland, Serbia and Norway.

It was not clear how they all died. At least two fell on their way up the mountain, before the avalanche.

Shahzad Qaiser, a top official at the ministry, said on Monday that all climbers who had been caught on K-2 during the avalanche were accounted for.

On Monday morning, a helicopter brought Van Rooijen and Dutch colleague Cas Van de Gevel from K-2's base camp to a military hospital in Skardu, said Maj. Farooq Firoz, an army spokesman.

The Italian climber, Marco Confortola, was still struggling down the mountain on Monday afternoon, still too high for a helicopter rescue, Firoz said.