Dubai-based mountaineer Naila Kiani made history on Wednesday by leading a team of eight climbers in the recovery of Muhammad Hassan Shigri’s body from an altitude of 8,200 meters on K2. This remarkable feat, the highest recovery ever conducted on the world’s second-highest mountain, took three days to complete, from the bottleneck to the base camp.
Hassan’s tragic death last year attracted global attention and ethical scrutiny, as reports indicated that other climbers had passed him by without offering assistance despite his critical condition. It was also noted that Hassan was ill-equipped and inexperienced for the climb. The recovery team managed to excavate Hassan’s body from the snow at the bottleneck on Monday and transported it to the advanced base camp by around 6:30 pm local time on Wednesday.
Kiani explained that Hassan’s family reached out to her for help while she was participating in the K2 clean-up project, a humanitarian initiative supported by UAE’s Mashreq Bank. Despite obtaining the necessary clearances only a week before the summit attempt, the team quickly mobilized to take advantage of favorable weather conditions, transforming this into a crucial, last-minute operation.
Kiani emphasized the crucial contributions of the high-altitude climbers, logistical support from Imran Ali, and the assistance of Shigar’s deputy commissioner, Wali Ullah Fallahi, which made the mission possible. In May 2024, Kiani scaled Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak at 8,485 meters, becoming the first Pakistani woman to conquer 11 of the world’s 14 highest mountains, all exceeding 8,000 meters in height.
This unprecedented rescue operation on K2, executed from such a high altitude, coincided with the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of K2. Kiani, a Pakistani native now residing in Dubai, pointed out that previous attempts to fund similar expeditions were prohibitively expensive and did not receive approval for the body retrieval. By conducting this mission on a not-for-profit basis, the team managed to reduce the costs to a third of the original estimates presented to the Gilgit Baltistan government.
The team included five climbers: Dilawar Sadpara, Akbar Hussein Sadpara, Zakir Hussein Sadpara, Mohammed Murad Sadpara, and Ali Mohammed Sadpara, along with logistics manager Imran Ali and Wali Ullah Fallahi. Kiani highlighted that this rescue mission aimed not only to ensure a dignified burial for Hassan but also to showcase the exceptional skills and dedication of Pakistani high-altitude workers.
