Dubai resident leads mission to rescue body of Pakistani porter who died last year on K2

Pakistani mountain climber Naila Kiani led mission after pleas from family to find son's body

Muhammad Hassan Shigri's body was recovered from K2 and sent to his family in Pakistan. Source: Naila Kiani

A Dubai resident led a team of climbers to retrieve the body of a mountain porter who went missing on the notorious K2 last year.

Pakistani mountain climber Naila Kiani recovered the body of Muhammad Hassan Shigri on Monday from the Bottleneck of K2, an icy narrow gully with steep sides covered in glacial ice, at a height of 8.2km.

Mr Shigri, a 25-year-old Pakistani mountain porter, lost his life in July 2023. Reportedly, he fell from a path in the narrow area when accompanying an international team.

Ms Kiani, a seasoned climber who has scaled 11 out of 14 of the world’s highest peaks above 8km, was contacted by Mr Shigri's family who made a plea for assistance.

When approached by Mr Shigri’s family, Ms Kiani decided to lead the mission to retrieve the body and help them find closure.

“It was an incredibly risky operation because it (the Bottleneck) is basically a big ice wall,” said Ms Kiani.

“K2 is notorious for rock fall and 8,200 metres is very high to bring a dead body down because the body is frozen.

“I met the family and they requested me to (rescue the body).

“By taking undertaking this mission, not only I did I want to help the family, but also highlight that we have amazing strong high-altitude workers in Pakistan.”

Mounting mission

Ms Kiani brought together a team of Pakistani climbers who dug out the body from snow at the K2 Bottleneck on July 29, reaching advance base camp on July 31.

Pakistani climbers Dilawar Sadpara, Akbar Hussein Sadpara, Zakir Hussein Sadpara, Mohammed Murad Sadpara and Ali Mohammed Sadpara helped retrieve the body under the guidance of Ms Kiani.

“I was very careful about using the word congratulations. But they (Mr Shigri's family) said it to me, so I was very happy that maybe the family had the closure that they wanted,” said Ms Kiani.

Last year, the circumstances surrounding Mr Shigri's death drew international attention. Despite numerous climbers passing by, Mr Shigri, an inexperienced high-altitude porter who did not have proper gear, died.

Until his attempt to scale the mountain, Mr Hassan had limited his climbing to the K2 base camp but decided to go to the summit to earn more money to treat his mother, who was in poor health.

The incident underscored the need for improved training, better equipment, and better ethical standards in mountaineering.

Mr Shigri's death also lead to a global debate after a video emerged that showed climbers stepping past his body to reach the top.

“Hassan had told me he wanted to earn enough before winter to be able to shift the family to an area with moderate weather,” Mr Hassan’s brother Muhammad Hussain told The National at the time.

“I was already in Pakistan to manage a clean-up project at K2 at the time and somebody suggested that I should help the family because they had been trying to request the government for help since last year,” said Ms Kiani.

“I had a clean-up team already, I had the whole infrastructure, the kitchen, the gear needed for climbers.”

K2, which is on the Chinese-Pakistani border, has a formidable reputation. Only a few hundred climbers have ever reached the summit.

The summit of Mount Everest, in contrast, has been reached almost 12,000 times.

Since Ms Kiani was not sure if the body was at the K2 Bottleneck, she sent a team to look for the body. In order to keep costs down, she hired more porters who were already at the base camp and sent them to help retrieve the body after it had been found.

She stressed the need for training high-altitude workers and equipping them with proper gear in Pakistan.

“The gap is that we don't have a single internationally qualified, high altitude worker or guide,” she said.

“None of the climbers are internationally trained and qualified.

“That stops some foreign climbers from hiring the locals and they bring Westerners or Nepali guides.”

Through this mission, Ms Kiani hoped to send a message on the importance of improving local standards in the industry.

“These porters are heroes, they make other climbers’ dreams come true, because they guide us, but they don't get glory,” she said.

“I've been very vocal about their rights for a long time and this mission was an opportunity for me to be their voice to showcase what they can do, and talk about their rights and their training.”