KATHMANDU, Nepal- A Nepali national working as a mountaineering guide is among the killed in the gun attack that killed at least 11 mountaineers in the base camp of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan.
Nepali embassy in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan has confirmed the killing.
According to the Nepali Ambassador to Pakistan, Bharat Raj Poudel, the climbers, including tourist guide Sona Sherpa, 35 of Solukhumbu district, were killed when the gunmen opened fire as they were taking rest before climbing the mountain.
Eight other Nepalis, who had been fixing ropes on the mountain slopes, and five other foreigners survived the attack, Poudel said.
“The expedition was arranged by Seven Summit Treks (based in Kathmandu),” he said.
Sherpa’s body was taken to Islamabad and sent for post-mortem at a local hospital, according to Poudel.
The gunmen stormed the hotel the climbers had been in at around 1 am local time. They looted all their belongings before shooting them dead, he said.
Pakistani authorities informed the Nepali Embassy in Islamabad of the incident and expressed grief over it, Poudel said.
“We will begin the process of sending the body home once the post-mortem is done,” said Poudel. The trekking company and its staff are closely working with Pakistani and Nepali officials in this regard, he said.
Nepali Sherpas are renowned the world over for their climbing and rope fixing skills, while they are also known as ‘ice doctors.’
An unidentified gunmen on Sunday opened fire targeting the foreign mountaineers at the base of the second highest peak in the country killing Sherpa along with five Ukrainians, three Chinese, one Chinese American, and one Lativian. The Pakistani authority had earlier said the number of killed nine but later confirmed it 11 including a Nepali national.
Nanga Parbat, which at 8,126 metres, is the second highest mountain in Pakistan and the ninth highest in the world.
