Three Korean mountain climbers who were on their way down after reaching the summit of the world’s second highest mountain are missing presumed dead in an avalanche. According to the Korea Alpine Federation of Kyungnam on Sunday, Hwang Dong-jin (45), Park Kyung-hyo (29) and Kim Hyo-gyung (33), who were on their way down after conquering the 8,611 m K2 in the Himalayas as part of a team led by Hwang Dong-jin (45), were trapped by an avalanche in an ice gorge called the Bottle Neck at 8,211 m.
Their death had not been confirmed as of Sunday, but considering all the circumstances, it is highly unlikely that they survived. Han Hyung-ryun of the federation said a falling block of ice swept away fixed and climbing ropes together, trapping the Korean climbers together with sportsmen from other countries in the mountain.
According to a local mountaineer quoted by AFP, nine people -- the three Koreans, two Nepalese, one Serb, one Pakistani, one Dutch and one Norwegian -- are dead and three are missing. DPA reported that of the 20 to 25 mountain climbers who were near the Bottle Neck at the time, seven to 11 including the three Koreans are dead and six or more seem to be missing.
Team leader Kim Jae-soo and woman mountaineer Ko Mi-young, who conquered the K2 summit together with the three, escaped the tragedy because they descended earlier. They are reportedly helping rescue efforts at the scene of the accident.