Pakistani authorities said Wednesday they have called off their search for one of two Japanese climbers who went missing a week ago on Spantik Peak in the north of the country, after earlier finding the body of the other climber.
Officials said no sign had been found of Atsushi Taguchi, 36, despite an extensive search, and that he could have been hit by an avalanche.
The authorities have identified the climber whose body was recovered Saturday as Ryuseki Hiraoka, 55. The Japanese embassy in Islamabad has confirmed the body was of one of the two climbers but did not identify him except to say he was a man in his 50s.
The two Japanese were believed to have been attempting to scale the 7,027-meter peak without porters.
Hiraoka was a mountain guide who had climbed Mt. Everest several times, according to his own website.
Screenshot from video footage taken on June 13, 2024, shows the area at around 5,000 meters above sea level on Spantik Peak in the north of Pakistan.
(Courtesy of Gilgit-Baltistan region authorities in northern Pakistan)(Kyodo)
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