https://arab.news/vgm6r
- Snorri along with two other mountaineers died during a K2 winter ascent in February this year
- Pakistan assures Snorri family of full support in retrieving the Icelandic mountaineer’s body
ISLAMABAD: The family of Icelandic mountaineer John Snorri, who lost his life along with two others during a K2 winter ascent last year, has been in Pakistan where his wife and others have been pushing for efforts to retrieve his body.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, John Snorri, 47, of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, of Chile, were last seen just 300 meters short of the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, on February 5, 2021. It is believed the group had reached the summit but encountered a problem on the way down.
Snorri’s family, including his wife, daughter, and two sisters, met with Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood in Islamabad this week to push for the efforts to locate his body.
On Friday, Snorri’s wife Lina Moey said the latest attempt to recover the body remained unsuccessful as they wished to move it to a safer place.
“We traveled here in the hope of being present if an opportunity had been for John being moved away from the path toward the summit of K2 to a resting place close to his friend and climbing partner Ali and their climbing partner Juan Pablo,” she said at a press conference in Islamabad.
The family of Iceland's mountaineer John Snorri who lost his life while summiting K2 met with Pakistan's President Dr Arif Alvi in Islamabad on July 29, 2022. (PID)
“Today, we got the news that a team of four mountaineers led by Mingma G was unsuccessful in their attempt, after spending two hours on the summit of K2.”
In a meeting on Friday, Foreign Secretary Mahmood told Snorri’s family the Pakistani government had undertaken an extensive search and rescue operation last year for Snorri and other climbers, who had gone missing on the expedition to scale K-2.
The family of Iceland's mountaineer John Snorri who lost his life while summiting K2 met with Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood in Islamabad on July 29, 2022. (Pakistan Foreign Office)
The family of Icelandic mountaineer thanked the government, local military commanders and pilots in Skardu, who lead the search missions when Snorri and other climbers had gone missing.
“Pakistan will always be in my heart and our children’s hearts and as such we plan to return in a few years’ time when the children are more grown up and walk together as a family to K2 basecamp,” Moey said at the press talk.