Pakistan authorities have officially declared that Iceland’s John Snorri Sigurjónsson, Pakistan’s Ali Sadpara and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr are presumed dead, RÚV reports. John Snorri’s family believe they reached K2’s peak but encountered issues on the way down. They were last heard from February 5 at the most challenging part of the route to the K2 summit. Search for their bodies will continue.
At a press conference earlier today, Gilgit-Baltistan’s Minister of Tourism Raja Nasir Ali Khan declared that the three missing climbers were presumed dead. This was the conclusion of meteorologists, other climbers, and the Pakistani army’s specialist. John Snorri and his companions last made contact on February 5. There was no way to survive for this long under such challenging weather conditions. Khan stated that search for their bodies would continue.
Originally, John Snorri intended to climb the mountain with father and son Ali and Sajid Sadpara. Juan Pablo Mohr joined them high in the mountain but Sajid had to turn back due to an oxygen malfunction in the so-called bottleneck region at an altitude of around 8,200 m (26,900 ft) above sea level. K2’s peak is at an altitude of 8,611m (28,251 ft). In a statement posted to Facebook, on behalf of their family, John Snorri’s wife, Lína Móey Bjarnadóttir thanked everyone who helped look for John Snorri and his companions. They state that based on the timing of their last known whereabouts, they firmly believe that the three reached the peak, but that something went wrong on their way down. Both Sajid and Raja Nasir Ali Khan have made similar statements about the climbers reaching the peak. John Snorri’s family expresses their gratitude to Pakistan, Chile, and Iceland’s authorities, as well as their gratitude that Sajid survived.
John Snorri’s family’s statement reads: “Our Icelandic hearts are beating with Pakistani and Chilean hearts. Thank you to all who have devoted your time to the search and taken the time to care by sending supportive words and thoughts to us in these difficult times. Ali, John and Juan Pablo will live forever in our hearts.”
