Search for US climbers called off

Islamabad

The families of two American mountaineers missing in Pakistan have called off search and rescue efforts after almost two weeks. Alpine Club spokesman Karrar Haidri said the search still formally remained open on Sunday, and said mountaineers were still carrying out searches on the ground.

Utah climbers Kyle Dempster, aged 33, and Scott Adamson, 34, had been attempting to scale the north face of the 6,960-metre (22,835-feet) Ogre-II peak in the Karakoram mountain range. They were last seen on August 22, but a search was launched when they did not return to base after the expected three days. Bad weather had prevented an aerial search until Saturday, but two helicopters then conducted a flight over the region which found neither any sight of the men nor any camps.

However, they did spot signs there had been an avalanche on the peak they were climbing. Given the time that has elapsed and the nearly continuous stormy weather since they were last seen, and the substantial risks that such high-altitude missions entail, Kyle and Scott's families have made the extremely difficult decision to end the search efforts.