Sergey Nilov missing on Gasherbrum IV, Mikhail & Sergei Mironov awaiting rescue after serac collapse

A Russian expedition to Gasherbrum IV led by Sergei Nilov and comprised of Alexy Bautin, Evgeni Lablokov, Mikhail Mironov and Sergei Mironov, was struck by tragedy yesterday when a huge serac collapsed, taking with it Nilov and injuring both Mikhail and Sergei Mironov.

According to initial reports, the incident occurred at approximately 7:00am and in the icefall at 6,400 meters. Nilov is presumed dead, while Mikhail and Sergei Mironov are waiting to be rescued. They managed to descend 100m on their own and, after retrieving a rucksack, pitched their tent in a safer location and spent the night there. The remaining members, Bautin and Yablokov, were successfully evacuated from camp at 6100m by Pakistani military helicopter and flown to Skardu. At present a rescue operation is under way, involving Bautin and six Pakistani rescuers. They have been flown to ABC and plan to rescue the climbers tomorrow.

The Russian climbers had travelled to Pakistan to retrieve the body of their compatriot Dmitry Golovchenko who perished on the mountain in September 2023 while attempting a new route on the mountain's unclimbed SE Ridge together with Nilov.

Golovchenko and Nilov formed a formidable pair and had made a series of outstanding ascents together, such as the Muztagh Tower in Pakistan in 2012 which netted them the Piolet d'Or in 2013, the Russian direttissima on the North Face of Thalay Sagar in the Indian Himalayas in 2016, the East Face of Jannu in 2019 and the South Face of Voennikh Topografov in the Tien Shan in 2021.

Gasherbrum IV - the shining mountain
The 7825m peak is located in the Baltoro Muztagh chain of the Karakorum in Pakistan and was first climbed on 6 August 1958 by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri as part of an Italian expedition led by Riccardo Cassin.

This news report will be updated as events unfold.