British mountaineer and his climbing partner are missing on Nanga Parbat in Pakistan

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The search for a British climber who went missing on the world’s ninth-highest mountain in Pakistan is facing further delays due to bad weather.

Tom Ballard, 30, who is originally from Derbyshire but lives in Scotland, was reported missing on Nanga Parbat mountain in the western Himalayas earlier this week with his Italian climbing partner Daniele Nardi, 42. They had been climbing the 8,126 metre (26,660ft) peak, also known as “killer mountain”, but lost contact with base camp last Sunday when they went above 6,300m.

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Rescuers had been due to search for the pair with a helicopter and drone on Saturday but were forced to postpone their efforts due to bad weather.

The Italian ambassador to Pakistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, tweeted: “Weather conditions today do not allow the planned search and rescue op for [Daniele Nardi]⁩ and Tom Ballard. Tomorrow morning conditions should be better and will try again.”

Pontecorvo added that he had sought the “extremely helpful” advice of Basque climber Alex Txikon, who completed the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat three years ago and is joining the rescue mission.

Txikon had tweeted last week that he wished Ballard and Nardi “all the luck in the world”.

An update on Nardi’s Facebook page claimed that helicopter pilots had been on standby since Saturday at 5.30am local time due to “snow, clouds and poor visibility”.

“We remain confident that operations can resume as soon as possible,” the post said.

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The rescue mission has faced several setbacks already. Weather conditions halted the search on Friday, and the arrival of helicopters was temporarily thwarted on Thursday when Pakistan closed its air space after the shooting down of two Indian military planes in an escalation of tensions over the Kashmir region. According to Pontecorvo, initial payment problems for upfront fees for the rescue mission had been solved.

Another post on Nardi’s Facebook page claimed that a Russian team climbing nearby on K2 had offered to help but had given up due to the strong avalanche risk on the Nanga Parbat.

Ballard’s mother, Alison Hargreaves, who became the first woman to climb Everest unsupported and without oxygen, died on K2 in 1995.

Montane, Ballard’s sponsor, said in a statement on Friday: “Official search efforts began [on] Thursday with the assistance of the Pakistan army and several experienced mountaineering teams from the vicinity.

“Our thoughts are with both climbers, their families and friends, and we are not giving up hope for their safe return.”