Army Aviation helicopters launched an operation on Monday to save two Russian climbers who are stranded at an altitude of 6,400 meters on Gasherbrum IV (7,925m) in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region.

According to Dawn, the team of four local high-altitude mountaineers and one Russian climber was dropped by the helicopters at 6,000 meters to attempt a rescue of the two injured Russian climbers - Mikhail Mironov and Sergei Mironov.

The helicopters could not land above 6,000 meters, so the rescue team will have to climb up to reach the stranded climbers.

The five-member Russian expedition had set out to retrieve the body of their fellow climber, Dmitry Golovchenko, who had perished on the mountain a year ago. On Saturday, the team was hit by a snow avalanche at 6,400 meters, leaving the two climbers injured and stranded. One of their teammates, Sergei Nilov, went missing, while two others, Alexy Bautin and Evgeni Lablokov, were rescued and airlifted to Skardu on Sunday.

Shigar Deputy Commissioner Waliullah Falahi told Dawn that the condition of the two injured climbers is “critical” and there is “little hope that they will survive beyond the next day.”

The rescue team is expected to reach the stranded climbers on Tuesday and airlift them to Skardu.

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Karrar Haideri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said the rescue mission “underscores the harsh and unpredictable dangers of high-altitude mountaineering, where even the best-prepared expeditions can face life-threatening challenges.” The army is also launching a separate effort to locate the missing climber, Sergei Nilov.