Up to 10 international mountaineers and a local cook and guide from four multi-national expeditions to Nanga Parbat Kinshofer route, on the Diamir Side were murdered by unknown assailants or militants around midnight to 2 a.m. in Nanga Parbat basecamp on Sunday, June 23rd.

Up to 10 international mountaineers and a local cook and guide from four multi-national expeditions to Nanga Parbat Kinshofer route, on the Diamir Side were murdered by unknown assailants or militants around midnight to 2 a.m. in Nanga Parbat basecamp on Sunday, June 23rd.

The Pakistan Army had secured the area and is evacuating the bodies to Islamabad via Gilgit. A Pakistan Mi-17 military helicopter was observed above the basecamp area around 9 a.m. Pakistan time.

According to Radio Pakistan Urdu, Dunya News and ARY TV, three Chinese climbers, five Ukraine climbers (belonging to Blue Sky Tours), one Russian, one local cook and one local guide were killed by approximately a dozen militants armed with AK-47s and knives. Some climbers were reported to have fled, and hid in nearby trees, or ran to Nanga Parbat camp one to escape.

On Pakistani ARY TV, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was strongly condemned the violence and murders, and said the acts were un-Islamic and cruel, and every effort would be made to bring the perpetrators to justice, and make Pakistan safe for tourism.

A list of foreign expeditions cleared by the Pakistan Ministry of Tourism to climb in Pakistan this summer (2013) is listed on website:

http://altitudepakistan.blogspot.com/2013/06/pakistan-2013-list-of-summer-expeditions.html

Ghulam director of Blue Sky Tours, reported that the climbers were from several different expeditions, and from different tour agencies, including Blue Sky Tours, Jasmine Tours, Nazir Sabir Expeditions, and Karakoram Magic http://www.karakurummagic.com

Although over 400 climbers and trekkers have died in the Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan from illness, injuries, avalanches and accidents, there have been relatively few climbers or foreigners murdered in northern Pakistan. Those murdered include Ned Gillette (Haramosh 1999), two Czech hikers in Gupis valley. Gabriella Gubicova and Petr Polasek, were murdered in 2001, a Japanese solo hiker was murdered near Nanga Parbat in the late 1990s.

The majority of violence in the Nanga Parbat region of Diamer district is related to attacks against Shiia travellers by Sunni Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants who spoke Pashto. Last year about 30 Shiia travellers were pulled off a bus near Babusar Pass and summarily executed by 30 to 40 Sunni militants.

The following is a list of climbers who were on Nanga Parbat. The names of those killed is unknown at this time.

Ukraine International Nanga Parbat Expedition

1. Igor Sviergun

2. Oleksandr Zakolodnyi

3. Bidzina Gujabidze

4. Badavi Kashaiev

5. Mykhailo Kolotushkin

6. Konyayev Dmytro

7. Danylo Yasnyuk

8. Afi Gigani – Georgia

9. Anton Dobes – Slovakia

10. Peter Šperka – Slovakia

Seven Summit Treks Nanga Parbat Expedition

1. Yang Chunfeng

2. Rao Jianfeng

3. Zhang Wei

4. Zhang Jingchuan

5. Honglu Chen

6. Halung Dorchi Sherpa

7. Renje Lakpa Sherpa

8. Mingma Thinduk Sherpa

9. Pemba Dorchi Sherpa

10. Pechhumbe Sherpa

11. Mingma Dorchi Sherpa

12. Karma Sherpa

13. Danuru Sherpa

Nation: China/Nepal