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Mountaineer Park Young-seok has gone missing while climbing Annapurna in the Himalayas after his last contact Tuesday. A rescue unit has launched a search, according to the Korea Alpine Federation.
Two other junior mountaineers who went with Park are also out of contact, according to the federation.
Officials of the federation said Thursday that the 48-year-old climber has not made contact with his base camp after his last call at 4 p.m. Tuesday (local time).
During the call, he said he was climbing down to an advance camp about 5,000 meters high on the mountain because weather conditions were bad and rocks were falling.
After contact was cut, two climbers at the base camp searched for Park Wednesday, but only found traces of the advance camp which was hit by an avalanche, according to the federation.
“He didn’t go far from the advance camp before he said he would come down. But about two days have passed since then without any further contact, so we worry he might have gotten lost,” an official said.
Park, who had already scaled Annapurna, was climbing the peak to try a new route on the south face of the 8,091-meter-high mountain. The southern side is known for a very steep 2 kilometer slope.
The federation and the Park Young-seok Exploration and Culture Foundation dispatched a helicopter from Katmandu but didn’t find anything during the first search operation conducted early Thursday morning.
In the second search, four Nepalese Sherpas familiar with the topography there were airlifted by helicopter to the mid-slope of the mountain where Park is presumed to have been.
“We can’t say yet whether a tragedy has happened. I’m praying for his safety,” the head of the federation Lee In-jung said.
“There is a chance that Park and the others took shelter in a safe place after losing their communication gear. In that case, they can hold on for about 10 days as they carried four days worth of food rations,” he said.
A Sherpa who is working with the Korean team in the search operation told Yonhap News Agency that he can’t leap to a hasty conclusion on whether Park is alive or dead. “Some survive for three to four days after an accident. But each case is different, so I can’t say how much the chances of his being alive are,” he was quoted as saying.
Park is the first person in the world to scale all 14 peaks taller than 8,000 meters, including Annapurna; the seven highest peaks on seven continents; and to travel to both poles.
Internet users are praying for his safety. A blogger, ganggadol, said, “Earlier in an interview, Park was asked why he was smoking again after quitting and said, ‘I’ve watched my colleagues die in front of my eyes. I may die at any time like that, so I’m enjoying what I want to enjoy.’ Park, please be safe. Please come back and smoke as much as you want.”
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