Missing Australian, Canadian Climbers Found Dead On Mount K2 In Pakistan

Matthew Eakin from Australia and Richard Cartier from Canada had successfully climbed Mount K2 but went missing during descent in two separate incidents.

Australian mountaineer Matthew Eakin. ( Image Source :Facebook/Climb And Wine )

Two mountaineers who had gone missing during their climb to Mount K2 in Pakistan have been found dead. The bodies of the climbers, Matthew Eakin from Australia and Richard Cartier from Canada, were found at a location between Camp 1 and Camp 2 on Tuesday, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

Quoting sources at the Base Camp, the report said Eakin and Cartier went missing in two separate incidents. Both had been successful in climbing the peak, but went missing during their descent from Camp 3. 

Cartier, 61, was a professional mountaineer and he had gone to Camp 3 for acclimatisation, the Dawn report said, adding that he went missing on July 19. A ground search operation was conducted to trace him but the climber could not be found.

Drone cameras pressed into service on Tuesday spotted the body of the missing Canadian climber on a rock near Camp 1. He had apparently fallen from a cliff, the report said.

Meanwhile, Eakin went missing during his descent to the Base Camp on July 22.

Quoting the Base Camp sources, the report said the Australian climber’s body was spotted near Advance Base Camp Tuesday. He had reportedly fallen on rocks.

Eakin was also an experienced mountaineer.

According to the report, the bodies of both the climbers were found intact and frozen.

Richard Cartier. Our last climbing trip in Patagonia. pic.twitter.com/gCtBCFWRNl

— Tomás K. Ryan (@tomaskryan) July 26, 2022