Chinese mountaineer narrates dramatic escape

ISLAMABAD: It was his four years in the military that helped Zhang Jingchuan survive the terrorist attacks on mountaineers at the Nanga Parbat base camp that left 10 of his colleagues dead last Saturday.

The Chinese citizen left Pakistan on Wednesday after sharing his incredible story with the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP).

“We were asleep when they came for us. They dragged us all out and tied up our hands. We were then made to get down on the ground on our knees. After they searched everyone, the massacre began. The shot was aimed at my head but it missed. And I began to run towards the valley,” Zhang Jingchuan told the ACP in brief comments, adding how the military training had helped him stay alert and not lose presence of mind.

“Survival in the wilderness or under such circumstances is part of training of soldiers. Zhang Jingchuan is a martial artist that was probably why he was quick to react, seeing an opportunity to somehow untie his hands and run for his life after the bullet missed his head,” explained ACP President Col Manzoor Hussain.

According to the ACP spokesman, Karrar Haidri, Zhang Jingchuan returned to the base camp after hiding for more than an hour and made a call for help.

He had contacted his agency, the Seven Summit Treks in Nepal, which then got in touch with famous mountaineer Nazir Sabir, the owner of Nazir Sabir Expeditions, which was managing one of the four expeditions on the Nanga Parbat.

The ACP said after Nazir Sabir approached the military, helicopters reached the base camp, 4,800 metres high, at around 6am to 7am.

The only Pakistani murdered at the base camp was Ali Hussain, a cook and a high-altitude porter from Hushe village.

The sole bread earner of his family, Hussain left behind his five year-old son and two daughters.

According to the ACP, three climbers from the Polish Alpine Club — Adam Stadnik, Boguslaw Magrel and Wlodek Kierus - who were climbing the Nanga Parbat at the time of the attack had also told various sources the nightmarish experiences.

“The camp was surrounded, all climbers were dragged out of their tents, bound, robbed and then shot,” the ACP quoted Boguslaw Magrel writing in a blog.

The ACP said there were about 50 or so climbers from Pakistan, Ukraine, and international teams consisting of climbers from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan.

Another team of Ukrainian and Slovak climbers along with Sherpas from Nepal had brought with them mountaineers from China and a climber from Turkey.

Col Manzoor Hussain, the ACP president, explained that the expeditions had started arriving in the area weeks back and had been getting acclimatised.

“The Chinese were part of the Nazir Sabir Expedition and had arrived late on June 19 and were still at base camp I. The other climbers who were at the base camp that night and were killed were those who were unwell or had set up base camp II farther up the route and had returned to rest,” said Col Hussain, explaining how the climbers would often establish base camps higher on the mountain but descend to the previous camp as a technique to gradually get used to the thin air at the high altitudes.

After a sleepless night, the climbers were flown to Gilgit in helicopters and brought to Islamabad in a C-130 aircraft.

However, most of the climbers who had to abandon their summit after the incident updated their blogs, urging discretion especially when terrorist elements had targeted foreign tourists in Pakistan.

Nonetheless, the ACP said the Romanians on the Rupal side, the highest rock and ice wall in the world, of the Nanga Parbat were still climbing and had reached 7,200 metres a few days ago on the 8,126 metres high peak.

After managing to equip the route and camps for a summit push, the team started descending to lower camps.

The team was now for a clear window to continue the climb and make a summit push. An official decision on the matter was awaited.

Transfer of tourists’ bodies to hometowns from today

ISLAMABAD: The process to send the bodies of foreign trekkers, who were shot dead at the base camp of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan on June 23, to their respective countries will begin from today (Thursday) Geo News reported.

According to Foreign Ministry sources, Pakistan is waiting to receive flights clearance by the respective countries.

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal Khan will take the bodies to China while Dr Saeed from Foreign Ministry will fly with the bodies of the tourists to Ukraine and eastern European countries.

It may be mentioned that attackers dressed in police uniforms stormed a base camp at the foot of Nanga Parbat late Saturday, shooting dead ten climbers and a Pakistani guide at point-blank range.

The victims were identified as an American with dual Chinese citizenship, three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two others from China, a Lithuanian and a climber from Nepal.

Mountaineers’ bodies taken to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, June 23: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan received at the Air Marshal Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi on Sunday the bodies of 10 members of a trekking expedition killed in a terrorist attack in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The ambassadors of China and Ukraine and officials of the Nepalese and Russian embassies were also at the base to receive the bodies.
According to a handout, the minister conveyed his condolences to the dignitaries of the embassies and said the objective of the attack appeared to be to tarnish the image of Pakistan and damage tourism in the country.

He said the bodies of two Chinese nationals, a Nepalese and a Chinese-American had been identified.

The minister said a joint investigation team would investigate the matter to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Chaudhry Nisar said the prime minister had issued special instructions to make arrangements of transportation of the bodies to their countries and a minister would accompany them.

Chaudhry Nisar praised the role played by the armed forces in retrieving the bodies.

Agencies add: Matt Boland, acting spokesperson for the US embassy, confirmed that an American citizen had been killed in the attack and extended condolence to the families of the tourists.

Ukraine’s Ambassador Vladimir Lakomov told reporters outside the hospital where the bodies were taken: “We hope Pakistani authorities will do their best to find the culprits of this crime.”

The interior minister conceded that there was no security escort for foreigners in that area.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the “inhuman and cruel acts”. The prime minister ordered a thorough investigation and called for the culprits to be brought to justice.

“Those who have committed this heinous crime seem to be attempting to disrupt the growing relations of Pakistan with China and other friendly countries,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office spokesman said.

“The government of Pakistan expresses its deep sense of shock and grief on this brutal act of terrorism, and extends its sympathy to the families of the victims.”

The special assistant to the prime minister on foreign affairs and the foreign secretary spoke to the ambassadors of China and Ukraine and condoled the death of the tourists from the two countries.

Autopsy report of Gilgit tourists

ISLAMABAD - The initial postmortem report of slain foreign tourists has been released, revealing that all 11 people were killed in firing. The post mortem of bodies of foreign tourists who were killed in a remote area of Gilgit has been completed in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences‚ Islamabad. The incident took place at Buner area at the base of Nanga Parbat. The tourists belonged to Russia‚ China and Ukraine. The spokesman of the hospital said the tourists and their guide were shot in the head and chest. He said bodies of the tourists would be handed over to the concerned diplomatic missions. Security forces have reportedly started a hunt for the assailants.