One of two Japanese climbers missing in Pakistan found dead

One of two Japanese climbers was found dead and his body was found on a mountain in northern Pakistan on Saturday, and searches are underway for the second man, an official said.

Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi were attempting to summit the 7,027-meter (23,054-foot) Spantik Mountain in the Karakoram Range before disappearing this week.

“The body of a Japanese climber has been found and searches are underway to find the second climber,” said Wali Ullah Falahi, deputy commissioner of Shigar district.

The body was found 300 meters (984 feet) below Camp 3, he said, about 6,200 meters (20,341 feet) from where climbers are preparing for the final summit.

Naiknam Karim, director of Adventure Tours Pakistan which organized the expedition, said that “it is not clear which body was found.”

The search by mountaineers and high-altitude experts was supported by two Pakistan Army helicopters.

The two men had reached base camp on June 3 and attempted the ascent without the help of porters.

They were last seen on June 10 and the alarm was raised the next day by other climbers who expected to encounter them.

A military helicopter spotted the climbers on Thursday, but the search was suspended due to bad weather.

Spantik, also known as Golden Peak, is described as a “relatively accessible and simple peak” on the website of a tourism company, Adventure Tours.

The country is home to five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 meters, including K2, the second highest in the world.

In 2013, more than 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to government figures, where most of the Karakoram range is located, with the summer climbing season stretching from early June to late august.