ISLAMABAD: French climber Elisabeth Revol, who was rescued from Nanga Parbat by Polish mountaineers on Sunday, may go back home as her family is seeking a second opinion from a doctor in France.

According to sources, Ms Revol is currently being treated by Dr Mamunur Rasheed, a plastic surgeon, at a private hospital in the federal capital. The doctor, the sources claimed, had suggested that her toes could be amputated because of frostbite damage.

Her family, however, wants to get another medical opinion from a doctor in France before proceeding with any surgery.

“There are two possibilities right now — the mountaineer can be treated in Pakistan after getting a medical opinion or a medical team may arrive from France. The other option is that she can be shifted to France for treatment. We have been providing general treatment to ensure that the leg is not damaged any further,” said an official on Monday.

The secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri, told Dawn that according to the information he had, Ms Revol was going back to France and arrangements were being made to do so.

The trek

Last week, Ms Revol and Tomasz Mackiewicz from Poland were reported missing while attempting to scale Nanga Parbat, which is 8,126 metres high and the ninth highest peak in the world. It is said that the two climbers had managed to reach the peak of the mountain nicknamed Killer Mountain, and were scaling down when they got stuck and separated.

Two Pakistan Army helicopters began an operation on Saturday at the request of the Polish and French embassies to rescue the two European mountain climbers. Volunteers spotted the two mountaineers and were climbing to 7,000 meters above the sea level to try to reach them. However, they were unable to reach Mr Mackiewicz, who was suffering from snow blindness and altitude sickness, because of harsh weather.

The volunteers were able to rescue Ms Revol but called off efforts to retrieve the Polish climber. Mr Mackiewicz has now been declared deceased, according to an official.

Ms Revol was rescued and shifted to Islamabad for medical treatment.

Mountaineers nicknamed Nanga Parbat ‘Killer Mountain’ after more than 30 climbers died trying to conquer it before the first successful summit in 1953.

Last year, a Spaniard and an Argentinian were presumed dead in an avalanche after they went missing trying to scale the peak.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2018