GILGIT: The body of Chinese mountaineer Guan Jing, who died on Aug 12 after being hit by falling rocks while descending from the K2 peak, has been recovered and brought to the mortuary in Skardu.

The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp-I and the Advanced Base Camp — a section notorious for frequent rockfalls. Guan had successfully reached the summit on Aug 11 with a group of climbers before beginning her descent.

According to Karrar Haidri, senior vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the Chinese climber died of a head injury caused by falling rocks. The evacuation was carried out by Army Aviation, which transported the body by helicopter from Concordia.

Earlier, a team of mountaineers had attempted the recovery on foot after poor weather had grounded helicopter operations. Guan Jing died on Aug 12, a day after summiting K2 with her group in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Her body was later found 100-150 metres above the Advanced Base Camp, at an altitude of around 5,400 metres. At 8,611 meters, K2 is considered one of the world’s most dangerous and technically challenging mountains, with a fatality rate far higher than that of Mount Everest.

Mr Haidri extended his deepest condolences to Guan Jing’s family, friends and the international mountaineering community, calling her loss “deeply tragic”.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2025