TBILISI, June 24 (Itar-Tass) - Georgian climbers, Bidzina Gudjabidze and Afi Gigani, “are currently staying at the Pakistani military base in Gilgit”, spouse of Bidzina Gudjabidze, Marina, told journalists.
She said, “My husband told me other climbers, who stopped their expeditions due to the June 22 attack, were expected to arrive at the base soon.”
Georgians, who climbed the mountain, remained alive and returned to the camp at the Nanga Parbat foot.
Gudjabidze, 53, has done mountain climbing since 1980’s. He climbed Mount Everest. He has the title of “Snow Leopard”. In 2003 Afi Gigani and he were awarded with the Vakhtang Gorgasali Order III Degree for outstanding contribution to the development of mountain climbing.
The Tehrit-i-Taliban Pakistan movement took responsibility for the murder of foreign tourists in the area of Gilgit-Baltistan in the north of Pakistan. “Our groups made the attack in response to American unmanned aircraft’s raids on the north-west of Pakistan,” a representative of the Tehrit-i-Taliban told local mass media.
“The murder of foreigners in Gilgit will prove our hatred to Americans for their raid on our militants,” he added.
In the middle of June several groups of alpinists, including from Russia, arrived to climb the Nanga Parbat Mountain, the Russian Embassy in Islamabad said.
Climbing Federation CEO Alexei Ovchinnikov said the Climbing Federation would ask the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry to help evacuate the participants in the expedition from Pakistan. They involve 50 people and these are not only Russians but also citizens of Ukraine, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, as well as the bodies of dead people.