Sherpa killed on K2, now Pakistan investigates: “Left for dead”

Pakistan has launched an investigation into the Sherpa’s death on K2. A tragedy that dates back to July 27, when the “transporter” Mohammed Hassan, 27 years old and father of three, is said to have slipped when falling on an impermeable path on the second highest peak in the world while carrying luggage and making way for a group of climbers. The latter, according to claims from other climbers who filmed the scene with a drone, would not have helped the Sherpa and, in fact, would have continued the journey to the summit leaving him behind, dying.

Among the climbers involved in the ascent to K2 on that tragic day is Norwegian Kristin Harila, who however has ruled out any responsibility. In an Instagram post on Friday, she wrote that she felt “angry at the way many people blamed others for this tragic death” and that no one was to blame for the Pakistani Sherpa’s tragic end. Now it will be the local authorities who will find out how the facts really happened.

Mountaineer Harila told Sky News that Sherpa Hassan was left hanging from a rope, upside down, after falling into what he described as “probably the most dangerous part of K2”. He said that after about an hour his team managed to get him back on track. At one point, she and another member of her team decided to continue to the top, while another member of the team stayed with Hassan, giving him hot water and oxygen from his mask. Harila said he decided to continue towards the summit because his advanced fixation team also encountered difficulties.

The case was triggered by mountaineers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flaemig, who interrupted their ascent to K2 due to difficult weather conditions, but declared that they later reconstructed the events, reviewing the images from a drone. The two said the Pakistani Sherpa could have been saved if the other climbers had given up trying to reach the summit.