K2 Tragedy Unfolding, Worse than 1996 Tragedy

Got this from The Adventurist:

This quote is coming from the Spanish news site Gara.com and represents some of our worst fears. The tragedy on K2 could be one of the world’s deadliest mountaineering disasters ever, even surpasing the tragic 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest.

I am having a very hard time confirming these foreign reports, however. EverestNews and ExplorersWeb are both staying quiet until climbers reach the area and can investigate, but these reports are pretty wide-spread in the foreign press.

Some climbers are talking to their country’s press about this tragedy and most agree that at least 6 people have died, while at least 11 others are missing, and there are more that are in severe danger of dying from injuries suffered after an ice serec dislodged and caused an avalanche.

I do not have a list of names, other than those thought missing that I have already put up–

Hope still remains that many of these climbers could be alive. At this point, if there are that many that have died, their bodies are unaccounted for and no official news has been handed down. Ongoing Search and rescue efforts persist, but the longer this takes, the less likely there is that there might be a good out come. This is a dire, dire situation for everyone involved.

I do have to add that heading in to the third day of this tragedy, things are starting to look quite grim. One night above 20,000 feet is an amazing accomplishment in mountaineering. Three nights at that altitude is –to be quite frank–unheard of. I don’t know if it has ever happened before with survivors.

Earlier reports from yesterday, after Wilco was discovered alive, are showing that many of the climbers are already suffering some severe damage due to frostbite at the higher elevations. You just can’t survive at that altitude for days on end.

I can’t put my finger on it, but something just does not seem right with the reports coming out, leading in to day three. Either the foreign press have got the story majorly wrong, or the American Press is playing down news of the tragedy until more information is known–there is definitely some discrepancy.