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Now a British climber is reported missing on Pakistani peak

Other News Materials 23 July 2008 20:19 (UTC +04:00)

A British climber was reported missing on a peak in northern Pakistan on Wednesday as the operation to rescue two Italians stranded on Nanga Parbat remained halted owing to poor weather, officials said, reported dpa.

Benjamin Cheek had been missing for four days on White Horn peak in the Hazara region, according to Mohammed Akram, vice president of Alpine Club of Pakistan.

He told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that initially two fellow climbers, who were safe, had tried to contact Cheek but, when that failed, they requested a rescue operation.

Mohammad Ilyas, spokesman for Askari Aviation, an air-service for rescue operations, confirmed the request. "We will start the operation tomorrow if the weather is clear," he said.

Meanwhile, Italian climbers Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones remained stranded at Nanga Parbat.

They were staying in their tent as the poor weather did not allow any rescue operation Wednesday, Italian embassy spokesman Sergio Oddo said. He reported on Tuesday that the climbers had descended from 7,000 to 6,600 metres.

The two were climbing the 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat when, after they reached an altitude of some 7,000 metres, bad weather set in on July 15, leaving them stranded. A third party member, renowned climber Karl Unterkirchner, had already plunged to his death. dpa ns sc

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