This undated file photo shows mountaineer Kim Hong-bin, who went missing after reaching the summit of the 8,047-meter-high Broad Peak located in the Karakoram Range on the Pakistani-Chinese border on July 18, 2021. (Yonhap)
GWANGJU, July 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Rescuers halted a search for a missing South Korean mountaineer in the Himalayas at the request of his family, officials said Monday.
Kim Hong-bin, 56, went missing on July 18 after scaling the 8,047-meter-high Broad Peak located in the Karakoram Range on the Pakistani-Chinese border.
A taskforce in the metropolitan government of Gwangju said it decided to halt search efforts and that rescue crews will leave a base camp there soon.
Kim’s family requested a suspension after they decided it would be difficult for him to survive considering the steepness of the site and the unsuccessful result of Sunday’s search efforts, the team told reporters.
Kim, who lost all his fingers to frostbite in 1991, became the world’s first person with a disability to ascend all 14 eight-thousanders in the Himalayas.
During his descent he fell into a crevasse and went missing in bad weather. Nearby climbers from Russia spotted Kim the following day but failed to rescue him as a rope broke. He reportedly fell further down.
On Sunday, a rescue helicopter was sent to the location about 7,900 meters above sea level. It made six rounds in the area but failed to find Kim.
Rescuers at the base camp examined video footage taken from the helicopter but failed to find him.
The task force in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, expressed appreciation to the Pakistani and Chinese governments for supporting the rescue operation.
The team said his funeral service will be conducted by the Korea Alpine Federation.
It will also work together with the federation to recommend the government bestow the highest state medal for a sportsman on the mountaineer.
In a separate development, it was learned that the remains of South Korean mountaineer Heo Seung-gwan, who went missing 22 years ago near the base camp of Broad Peak, was discovered by a climbing party earlier this month.
Heo went missing in July 1999 some 7,300 meters above Broad Peak while traveling with a climbing party. He was then 27.
According to foreign ministry officials, the remains were identified as Heo’s based on his uniform and a flag that was discovered with it.
The Yonsei University climbing group in Seoul, of which Heo was a member, said it plans to send a representative to Pakistan to collect his remains.
(Yonhap)
