A Japanese climber dies while trying to scale a mountain in northern Pakistan and another is missing

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Japanese climber has died while trying to scale one of the highest mountains in northern Pakistan and a search is still underway to find his missing colleague, officials said Saturday.

Karrar Haidri, who is the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said that rescuers retrieved the body of one of the two missing Japanese climbers after a dayslong search operation on the Spantik Peak, which is also known as Golden Peak.

The climbers were scaling the mountain when they went missing on Wednesday.

The Golden Peak is renowned for its distinct golden hue at sunrise and sunset, making it a popular destination. In a statement, Haidri quoted a top administrator in the town of Shigar, Waliullah Falahi, as saying that the body of the Japanese climber had been moved to a safer location.

Haidri said Pakistani authorities were in contact with the Japanese Embassy in Islamabad to confirm the identity of the dead climber.

Pakistan’s Alpine Club days had earlier said that the two Japanese who went missing on Wednesday were trying to reach the summit of the 7,027-meter (23,000-foot) Spantik Peak. It had identified them as Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi.

Several climbers die in Pakistan every year while trying to reach the summit of some of the world’s highest mountains, including K2, which is located in Pakistan’s north.