A mountain guide reported that the four Russian climbers had gone missing on the Himalayan mountain K2, at 28,250 feet second only to Mount Everest, three days ago and asked for a rescue helicopter to be sent as soon as possible.
Ashraf Aman, a climber who has scaled K2 now representing Adventure Tours Pakistan, the Pakistani company that had helped organize the expedition, said the helicopters remained grounded because of bad weather. He added that he expected the other Russian expedition members to return to Islamabad and was hopeful that they would be able to provide more details on the trip.
He said contact with the group could have been lost after an avalanche and added that rock falls were also frequent in the area.
Russian rescuers are also continuing the search for a Ukrainian climber who went missing in Russia's North Caucasus at the beginning of the month, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Three Ukrainian climbers died and two were injured after a rope broke on the eastern slope of Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest peak.
"We are combing the southeastern slope today," the ministry's press service spokesperson said.
