Bulgarian climber who fell from K2 in winter climb dies, sources confirm

SKARDU: Bulgarian climber Atanas Georgiev Skatov who conceded a fall while descending from camp 3 of K2 summit has been declared dead on Friday after his body was found by Pakistan Army, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to the sources privy to the details, Skatov had fallen earlier today while making back to K2 basecamp from camp 3 where he’d climbed but on his way back he disappeared.

The sources have confirmed to ARY News the mountaineer fell into a snowy ditch where a Sherpa team of mountaineers found his body and tried to recover it but then requested the Pakistan Army for assistance.

Later a Pakistan Army helicopter making it to the spot where Skatov’s body was found recovered it shifted him to Skardu, the sources have confirmed.

A Bulgarian news agency reported following the demise of Skatov that the 42-year-old Bulgarian an attempt to conquer the world’s second-highest peak but remained unsuccessful.

“For him, this was expedition No21 in the last eight years in a total of fourteenth attempts to conquer the eight-thousander.”

Separately reported today from K2 Winter Climb, Pakistani climber Muhammad Ali Sadpara along with his son Sajjid has accelerated the expedition to ascent the second highest mountain of the world, K2 without oxygen.

READ: Muhammad Ali Sadpara, son expedite K-2 winter summit

Sadpara ad his son have reached Hotel Nek and they can summit the highest mountain of the world today at any time.

Meanwhile, a climber hailing from Balgharia slipped and fell while returning to the Camp-3 along with other climbers, said sources. The search for a missing climber is underway.

It is to be mention here that the expedition was postponed, earlier, due to bad winter. Sadpara, his son and a foreign climber were on a mission to ascend K2 without oxygen.