Another tragedy on the K2 mountain: he died a second month …

The Bulgarian mountaineer Atanas Georgiev Skatov died on Friday during its shipment in the K2 mountain, 8,611 meters after suffering an accident. This is the second death of the winter mission at this mythical summit of the Himalayas after the death, in mid-January, of the Spanish Sergi Mingote.

Skatov “suffered a fall at camp three (7,528 meters) when returning to base camp due to a broken safety ropePakistan Alpine Club spokesperson Karrar Haidri said in a statement.

The body of the climber was recovered from the forward base camp by Pakistani army personnel. From there, the body was transferred by helicopter to the town of Skardu, Haidri added.

The accident occurred as Skatov “went from one lifeline to another,” explained Chhang Dawa Sherpa, expedition leader and team member of Seven Summit, the company behind the expedition. , on his Facebook account.

Sherpa said the fall was due to “some climbing errors”, while making sure that the ropes had been replaced with new material, ruling out that this was the reason for the accident.

“Atanas, a good friend of mine, who climbed ten 8,000-meter peaks, was a much appreciated member of all the other members of the expedition. My condolences to his family and friends. Today we have lost a great mountain friend. ” Nepalese mountaineer.

Skatov’s death is the second tragedy of this expedition, after the past Spaniard Sergi Mingote lost his life on January 16 after suffering a fall while descending to base camp.

The death of Mingote, co-leader of the expedition, coincided with the feat of the first winter ascent to K2, produced by 10 Nepalese.

The climb to K2 in winter, the only one of the 14 “eight thousand” not to have been crowned during the winter period, was considered the last great challenge of the discipline.

Fifty international climbers have embarked on the ambitious expedition which began at the end of December 2020.

Skatov’s death is the third of the season on Pakistani soil. In addition to Mingote, American mountaineer Alex Goldfarb was found dead on January 18 at Pastore Peak (6,209 meters) after having disappeared a day earlier.