Korean mountaineers killed while scaling Himalayan peak

Two South Korean mountaineers were killed while trying to scale Mt. Cholatse in the Nepalese Himalayas only weeks after another team went missing in the region, the local alpine organization said Saturday.

The Korean Alpine Federation said Kim Hyung-il, the 43-year-old leader of the K2 Extreme team, and Chang Ji-myeong fell to their deaths Friday afternoon while on the north face of the 6,440-meter high mountain.

It said the bodies of the climbers have been recovered after other members of the team left base camp when contact was lost and found them.

The two had set out to reach Cholatse’s summit in 36 hours and were killed at an altitude of 5,100 meters.

The KAF, meanwhile, said that Kim had taken part in the search and rescue effort to find three South Korean mountaineers who went missing on Oct. 18.

All three people, including the legendary Park Young-seok, who was trying to reach the summit of Annapurna, have been presumed dead after falling into a deep crevice.

Rescue workers called off the search late last month, and funerals were held for the men in Seoul on Nov. 3.

Park, 47, was one of the world’s most accomplished climbers. In 2005, he became the first in the world to complete the true Adventurers’ Grand Slam, which entails reaching the North Pole and the South Pole, and scaling the 14 eight-thousanders and the Seven Summits, which are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. 

(Yonhap News)