Bodies of missing British, Italian climbers found on Pakistan mountain Nanga Parbat

British climber Tom Ballard (pictured) and Italian Daniele Nardi have been missing on Pakistan's notoriously dangerous mountain Nanga Parbat, nicknamed Killer Mountain, since 24 February 2019. (Daniele Nardi/Facebook)

• Climbers Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi were last heard from on February 24
• They were attempting a route that has never been successfully completed

ISLAMABAD: The bodies of two climbers from Britain and Italy have been found in northern Pakistan nearly two weeks after the pair went missing, the Italian ambassador said Saturday.
Climbers Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi were last heard from on February 24 as they climbed the Nanga Parbat, which at 8,125 meters (26,660 feet) is the world’s ninth-highest peak.
They were attempting a route that has never been successfully completed.

Tom Ballard had been posting updates on his progress on Instagram before he went missing. (Tom Ballard/Instagram)

Italian ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo tweeted on Saturday that the bodies of the two men had been identified from aerial photos.
“It hurts to announce that the search is officially over,” he wrote.
“The search team have confirmed that the silhouettes spotted... at about 5,900 meters are those of Daniele and Tom.”

Foto made with a telescope by ⁦@AlexTxikon⁩ and his team on the #NangaParbat. @NardiDaniele is on the center left (orange vest) Tom Ballard at the center (blu vest) and their tent is visible next to Tom. Foto property of ⁦@AlexTxikon⁩. pic.twitter.com/TvOSYwbS2L

— Stefano Pontecorvo (@pontecorvoste) March 9, 2019

An announcement on Nardi’s Facebook page confirmed the deaths.
“We inform you that the research of Daniele and Tom has ended,” the post said. “A part of them will always remain on the Nanga Parbat.”
The discovery followed an extensive search by a team of Spanish climbers with the help of Pakistani mountaineer Rehmatullah Baig, who was climbing with the men before turning back.
The search was delayed because rescue teams were forced to wait for permission to send up a helicopter after Pakistan closed its airspace on Wednesday in response to escalating tensions with India.

 

A view of Nanga Parbat, Pakistan's second-highest mountain. (File Photo/Reuters)

Ballard is the son of British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, the first woman to conquer Mount Everest solo and without bottled oxygen.
She died in 1995 descending K2, the world’s second tallest mountain and also in northern Pakistan.