SEOUL-- South Korea has asked China and Pakistan for help in the search for a Korean mountaineer missing in the Himalayas, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.
Kim Hong-bin, a mountaineer also known for having lost his fingers to frostbite, went missing on Monday while on his way back down from the summit of the 8,047-meter high Broad Peak, located in Pakistan's Karakoram Range.
He broke the record of climbing all of the world's 14 highest peaks in the Himalayas as a person with a disability.
"We contacted the authorities in Pakistan and China as soon as we learned he went missing and requested a dispatch of rescue teams, including a helicopter," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a press briefing.
Choi said that the Pakistani officials told the ministry that a chopper will take off when weather conditions permit.
Choi also said that consular officials from the South Korean embassies in the two countries are on their way to the accident site.
Kim is known to have gotten lost at 7,900 meters above sea level and sent a distress call at 9:58 a.m. on Monday. Nearby climbers went there but failed to rescue him.
The Korea Alpine Federation said it is also looking into the situation.
Source: Yonhap News Agency