The search for South Korean mountaineers lost in the Himalayas last fall, including renowned climber Park Young-seok, will resume this summer, officials said Tuesday.
Officials at Park Young-seok Exploration and Culture Foundation said it plans to dispatch rescue climbers in July or August to once again search for Park and his two teammates, Shin Dong-min and Kang Ki-seok. The foundation has been training and developing young mountaineers since March 2010.
The funeral for the three was already held in November last year, about a month after they went missing during their climb up the Annapurna in the Himalayas. The Korean Alpine Federation suspended their search late October, citing concerns about the safety of rescue climbers, and said it would resume sometime in 2012.
“We‘ve come to an agreement on when we will send the rescue team,” said Kim Jin-sung, an executive director of the foundation.
“We will have more concrete discussions in the future on how the team should be formed and how it will operate.”
Kim said warmer conditions near the mountain should facilitate the search for remains of the climbers, adding that the foundation will contact local experts in Nepal to prepare for the rescue mission.
Annapurna is one of the world’s 14 highest peaks, which are collectively called the “eight-thousanders” since each is at least 8,000 meters above sea level. Park had previously reached the top of Annapurna and was climbing a new route on the mountain‘s southern side when he and two climbers went missing.
Park was one of the world’s most accomplished climbers. In 2005, he became the first in the world to complete the true Adventurers‘ Grand Slam, which entails reaching the North Pole and the South Pole, and scaling the 14 eight-thousanders and the Seven Summits, which are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.
(Yonhap News)
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