Pakistani mountaineer Asif Bhatti reached Nanga Parbat’s Camp 2 on Thursday morning, from where he will be lifted to base camp by an army helicopter.

He was assisted by two climbers who went up from Camp 2 to help him descend as well as Azerbaijani climber Israfeel who has acompanied him all the way. Bhatti is said to be in good health.

Bhatti started his descend towards the Camp two of the Nanga Parbat on Wednesday, as the helicopter rescue mission was delayed for the second day due to extreme weather.

Bhatti spent the previous night stranded at the Camp three of the Nanga Parbat also known as “killer mountain”. He is accompanied by two Italian and an Azerbaijani mountaineer.

The Pakistani mountaineer was reported stuck at the Nanga Parbat on Monday due to snow blindness. He has been stranded at Nanga Parbat for more than two days.

Bhatti remained stranded at Nanga Parbat more than 8,000 metres above sea level on Tuesday as the helicopter rescue mission was postponed due to strong winds.

“The rescue operation of Pakistan Army will start again tomorrow (Wednesday) morning,” Karar Haidri, the general secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told Aaj News.

The 45-year-old mountaineer reached camp three of the Nanga Parbat on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, a Pakistan Army helicopter arrived at Nanga Parbat’s base camp to rescue the mountaineer.

The mission had dropped two rescuers/climbers a place above camp two amidst hopes that Azerbaijani mountaineer Israfeel would bring Bhatti from camp four to camp three via helicopter. From this point, it was planned that the climbers would bring him to camp two that would be followed by a helicopter mission.

“But due to strong snow winds, the plan could not be executed and it was postponed till tomorrow [Wednesday],” Haidri said.

He added that Israfeel has brought Bhatti near camp three.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Gilgit-Baltistan and Army authorities to immediately rescue mountaineer Asif Bhatti, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The directives came after the mountaineer’s son appealed to the prime minister on social media for the safe evacuation of his stranded father.

Shehbaz Sharif instructed the GB chief secretary to contact Bhatti’s son and assure him of immediate measures for the stuck-up climber’s rescue.

Rescue efforts on Monday

Pakistani mountaineer Dr Asif Bhatti, who is stranded at camp four of Nanga Parbat (8,126 metres), could not be rescued on Monday due to the high altitude of the mountain, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said.

“Professor Dr Asif Bhatti is stuck at 8,000 metres, our helicopter cannot go there,” Karar Haidri, the general secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told Aaj News. “This means when he will arrive at 6,000 metres, camp two, then the helicopter can fly [to rescue him].”

Bhatti was reported stuck at an altitude of 8,000 metres at 7:10pm on Monday due to snow blindness. The 45-year-old mountaineer was on a mission to scale the Nanga Parbat, also known as the “killer mountain”.

Asif along with renowned Pakistani mountaineer Lt Col (retd) Dr Jabbar Bhatti, Dr Naveed, Saad Muhammad, and Faheem Pasha departed for the expedition a few days back.

A number of outfits were attempting the peak and some of their members had conveyed the message that Asif was suffering from snow blindness.

The high peak was one of the reasons for the delayed rescue mission by Haidri. The night was another reason mentioned by him to not start the operation.

But he shared that a group of Nepalese sherpas have agreed to participate in the rescue mission and trek till camp four of the peak. They would bring him to camp two (6,000 metres) after which the helicopter mission will be started.

In a tweet, mountaineer Shehroze Kashif offered to volunteer for Asif Bhatti’s rescue mission on Nanga Parbat.

“I kindly request the relevant department to consider transporting me to either the basecamp or even to higher camps for increased involvement,” he said.

Bhatti has previously ventured on the 8,047-metre peak Broad Peak, but he did not succeed, Karar Hydari, the Alpine Club of Pakistan general secretary, said.

Earlier, the alpine club claimed that Bhatti was doing well, but he would not be able to trek further due to his eyesight being affected. “His other team members have not yet begun their final summit push,” Haidri said.

With a death probability of 21%, Nanga Parbat continues to claim its place among the top five most dangerous mountains in the world. Till now 85 of the climbers have died while attempting it.