The Pakistan Army has rescued ailing Pakistani mountaineer Samina Baig from the K2 base camp in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and shifted her to a military hospital in Rawalpindi where she was being kept in the ICU, says in media reports. Samina Baig, a renowned Pakistani mountaineer, was along with Agostino Da Polenza of Italy leading an eight-member international K2 expedition, comprising Pakistani and Italian woman climbers. She had to quit the expedition on July 5 after her health deteriorated seriously, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). She has developed problems in her lungs. Another member of the expedition team, Amina Shigri, has also abandoned the summit and started travelling back after developing oxygen saturation issues at the world’s second-highest mountain. According to reports, on the advice of Italian doctors present with the team, Samina Baig was transported from the base camp on horseback on Friday due to the non-availability of a helicopter. They said the expedition team members were acclimatising themselves at the base camp when Samina Baig developed severe breathing problems.

The Italian doctors treated her and gave her medicines, but her condition continued to deteriorate. An Army aviation flight could not airlift Samina Baig because of bad weather in the area and she was then transferred to Skardu city via road. “Samina Baig’s health has improved due to decrease in height, while a team of doctors of Pakistan Army is also ready at CMH (Combined Military Hospital) Skardu,” the ISPR said in a statement. Later, after evaluation of her health condition, Samina Baig was shifted to CMH Rawalpindi from Skardu in a special C130 flight. Doctors are keeping her under constant observation in ICU, saying she was out of danger as there was some improvement in her health. The other two Pakistani climbers, Nadima and Samana, along with their four Italian colleagues continued their expedition. Samina Baig is the first Pakistani woman mountaineer to summit the world’s highest peak Everest and K2. She has also scaled Nanga Parbat and the Seven Summits in seven continents. Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, which are known for their treacherous climbs.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan