GILGIT, Aug 23: A Japanese climber has died from a fall off northern Pakistan’s 7,284-meter Passu peak, police said on Saturday.

“Takahashi Toshio, a Japanese died on Thursday when he was returning after climbing Passu peak,” a senior police official told AFP.

Toshio was part of a nine-member Japanese expedition that began their trek up Passu on July 23. His fall came after the team successfully reached the summit.

Police said that Toshio was rescued alive by his companions after the fall only to succumb to his injuries while at base camp, at 5,500 meters.

“His (Toshio’s) body is still at Camp II and may be brought down only by a helicopter or a high-altitude porter,” a police official said.

Toshio is the fourth climber to die during the July-October expedition season in northern Pakistan.

Authorities, meanwhile, rescued two Iranian climbers on Thursday who had sustained serious injuries while scaling 8,068-meter Gasherbrum, also known as the Hidden Peak.

“Mughabad Honer Tagoh and Mohammad Moraz were scaling Gasherbrum II peak when they fell into a deep crevasse,” a police official told AFP by phone.

The Iranians, part of a 12-member expedition, were rescued by an army helicopter and brought to a military hospital in Skardu.