ISLAMABAD, March 22: The two surviving members of the winter Polish expedition on Broad Peak have attributed the death of their teammates to exhaustion.

In a press statement sent back to the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), the Polish expedition said: “Unfortunately, after gaining the summit, Tomasz Kowalski was in trouble and showed signs of energy depletion and rapid pathological changes associated with altitude and low temperature. He was unable to descend.”

Also, in the case of Maciej Berbeka it was assumed that he was exhausted and ran out of energy.

“Therefore, in the area with so many technical difficulties, he could have fallen into the crevasses or fallen off a cliff (on March 6 in the morning after an extremely difficult night without any camping equipment at an altitude of about 7,700 metres on the Broad Peak, where he was seen the last time).”

ACP’s executive member Karrar Haidri explained why the surviving climbers did not turn back to find their missing friends. “The rule is simple.

A climber has to consider his safety first before assisting his partner. In this case, all the climbers were exhausted. And let’s not forget the extreme conditions, the cold and the technical climb that were unforeseen,” he said.

Despite almost no wind, completely clear full view and perfect climbing conditions, as the mountaineers described, the temperatures ranged from minus 29 degrees centigrade to minus 35 centigrade (at night).

On March 5 at dawn (5:15am), the summit team, Maciej Berbeka, Adam Bielecki, Tomasz Kowalski and Arthur Malek, left Camp IV at 7,400 metres. They decided to make the attempt because the conditions were very good, as well as the weather forecast for the next day was favourable.

The four-member team split after 7,900 metres into two separate rope teams, and Bielecki-Malek climbed in front. From the time they reached the pass at 12:30pm till they got to the top, it took them longer than they had initially planned.

“This was due to unforeseen technical difficulties before Rocky Summit, which did not occur during the summer climb,” the Polish expedition said.

It added that despite the seemingly late hours of reaching the top by the first two members of the team at 5:20pm on March 5, the other team embers Tomasz Kowalski, 27, and Maciej Berbeka, 58, who went missing, were 40 minutes late.

After topping out, the first team (Adam Bielecki and Artur MaB_ek) did not wait for Kowalski-Berbeka to celebrate at the top and headed back down immediately.

Waiting during winter conditions at this altitude, according to Bielecki and Malek, “Is not possible. It can cause hypothermia and have other health consequences.”

According to the Polish expedition, “The stretch down from the summit to the 7,900 meters high pass took an hour but Tomasz Kowalski was so exhausted that the descent took him 12 hours. It is not clear if even for a moment, they descended side by side.

On the way to the top, none of the climbers reported any signs of weakness. The descent, accompanied by the slower conditions at the height of winter, was very difficult and very risky.”

Adam Bielecki returned from the summit to Camp IV at 10:10pm, and Arthur Malek at 2am the next morning. “After resting, Adam Bielecki left the tent to meet Arthur Malek on his descent. Both climbers separately attempted to head back up in search for their missing team members but were forced to return because of general weakness.

On March 6, Pakistani climber Karim Hayat left Camp II to continue the search. He reached the crevasses at an altitude of about 7,700 metres. Despite the very good visibility, he did not see any signs of Berbeka or Kowalski. According to the expedition, Karim Hayat had seen Maciej Berbeka far away for some short time.

The next day, the leader of the expedition, Krzysztof Wielicki, decided the chances of survival of the two missing climbers were zero after spending two nights camping without equipment in extremely difficult conditions.

The expedition was completed on March 8 in the afternoon. After a symbolic farewell prayer for the dead, they began the descent into the valley.