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Slovenian Climber Dies in Pakistan
27.08.2008
Slovenian climber Pavle Kozjek suffered fatal injuries while trying to climb the 7,273-metre Mustagh Tower in the Northern Areas of Pakistan.
His companion, Dejan Miskovic, is reportedly uninjured and waiting to be rescued. The pair set out towards the mountain early on Monday morning, but soon ran into troubles. Shortly after leaving the camp, Kozjak fell into a chasm, while Miskovic got stuck at the height of 6,400 meters, where he spent the night without any equipment or food.
Slovenian climber Tomaz Humar, who got stuck in the Himalayas in August 2005 in his attempt to climb Mt. Nanga Parbat, already left for Islamabad to lead the Slovenian rescue expedition. Other Slovenian climbers in Pakistan will also join the rescue effort.
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and State Secretary Andrej Ster also contacted their Pakistani counterparts in an effort to rescue Miskovic and the Pakistani rescue service Askari already began the search.
According to the latest information, Miskovic is currently at around 5,000 metres and in good shape. So far, strong winds prevented the Pakistani helicopter assisting in the search from rescuing the climber.
Tone Skarja of Slovenian Alpine Association said that another attempt will be made.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bojan Brezigar confirmed that Askari Aviation announced another rescue attempt. He added that the rescuers had managed, according to unconfirmed information, to supply Miskovic with some food and equipment.
Kozjek is meanwhile reported to have fallen 2,000 metres deep, which leaves little hope that he will be found. Officially, he will be considered missing until he is found or confirmed dead by a commission.
Born in 1959, Kozjek had more than 20 years of mountaineering experience and became in 1997 the first Slovenian to climb up Mount Everest without the aid of bottled oxygen. He is the 19th Slovenian to die in the Himalayas.