Pakistan will not restrict mountaineering expeditions despite the recent deaths of climbers

Pakistan has issued no warnings or restrictions for mountaineering expeditions in the north, an official said Sunday, despite the recent deaths of climbers, Associated Press reported.

Climbers were well aware of the harsh weather and all the other risks and challenges, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region home to some of the world’s highest mountains. “Despite that, they willingly accept these challenges and come here to attempt these summits.”

Chinese climber Guan Jing, 37, was the latest person to perish on one of Pakistan’s mountains. She died last Tuesday after being hit by falling rocks on K2, the world’s second-highest peak known for its treacherous slopes and extreme weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered her body on Saturday.

Her body was still in the mortuary of the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu on Sunday. Contact has been made with Chinese authorities in Islamabad, and “now it is up to them to make further decisions in this regard,” said Faraq, according to Associated Press.