Two Scottish men among five climbers rescued from Pakistani peak

Five British climbers, of which two are Scottish were rescued from the 22,500ft mountain in Pakistan after a fall during their trek on Sunday.

The five British climbers in Islambad last month (From left to right: Will Sim, Alastair Swinton, Uisdean Hawthorn, John Crook, Tom Livingstone). Picutre: Tom Livingstone (@tom__livingstone)

All five experienced climbers have been rescued from the Koyo Zom peak in the country's north after they were injured following a fall during the climb.

Two British climbers were first airlifted to safety by an army helicopter later that evening, whilst their three climbing partners and the guide were left trapped, as the night fell and poor weather halted the attempt to get the others in the group off the mountain.

Amongst the climbers who awaited rescue from the 6,872m peak were Alastair James Swinton, originally from Fife and Uisdean Robertson Hawthorn from the North-Western Highlands.

Thomas Michael Livingstone from Wales and a local tour guide identified as Imran were also stuck on the peak whilst a helicopter was trying to reach them.

The two rescued climbers, identified as William Taylor Sim and John James Crook, were safely taken away on Sunday evening,

Mr Crook and Mr Sim were reported to be injured but are now in a stable condition and are resting in a nearby town.

According to the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the two climbers were rescued after the five-member British team had an accident involving a fall on a glacier at the Koyo Zom peak on Sunday, however he didn't elaborate on the nature of the accident.

Deadly Mountains

The Koyo Zom is the highest peak in the Hindu Raj mountain range and is located on the border between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district and Gilgit-Baltistan, standing at a height of 18,000 feet from the sea level.

Earlier this year, Scottish-based climber Tom Ballard and his Italian climbing partner, Daniele Nardi disappeared on the Himalayan peak Nanga Parbat in northern Pakistan, whilst hundreds of other local and foreign climbers have gone missing or have been rescued from the region's mountains because of avalanches and sudden changes in weather.

Fife-based Alastair James Swinton previously escaped death in 2013 whilst climbing Europe’s highest peak the Mont Blanc by “swimming” through the avalanche he was caught up in.