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Communication with group of climbers lost in Pakistan mountains

This group of Russian-Lithuanian climbers received a telephone warning, and one of its participants said they would descend

MOSCOW, June 25 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Mountaineering Federation says communication was lost with a Russian-Lithuanian group of mountain climbers in Pakistan’s mountains. There are six Russian nationals in the group, early reports say.

The executive director of the federation, Alexei Ovchinnikov, said communication was lost on Monday. “After the attack of gunmen on foreign tourists in Pakistani mountains overnight to Sunday, all participants of international expeditions were warned that it is dangerous to stay in that zone,” Ovchinnikov said.

He explained that this group had also received a telephone warning, and one of its participants said they would descend.

“But probably they did not lend an ear to our advice and decided to continue ascending. We hope that everything is okay with them,” Ovchinnikov said. He said the Russian Embassy to Pakistan had been informed about that. Ovchinnikov also said that several Russian mountain climbers had been evacuated from the dangerous zone to Islamabad and now the issue of their return back home is considered.

Overnight to June 23, an armed group attacked an international camp of mountain climbers in Gilgit-Baltisan. According to local media reports, ten people were killed. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan movement claimed responsibility for that attack.