A Pakistani doctor said today that a French climber rescued from a Himalayan peak is recovering and would be discharged from hospital soon.
Elisabeth Revol, suffering from frostbite and exhaustion, was rescued by volunteers from a separate Polish expedition on Sunday from Nanga Parbat, also known as "killer mountain."
She was airlifted to Islamabad and was being treated at the Shifa International Hospital. The hospital doctor spoke on condition of anonymity under hospital regulations.
Earlier, the search for Revol's fellow climber, Polish national Tomasz Mackiewicz, was called off due to worsening weather conditions. He has been declared deceased.
Revol spoke briefly to local Geo TV, saying that she has had "some problem with fingers ... now it's OK."
One of the rescuers, Adam Bielecki, said the rescue was very difficult because they were scaling a steep, ice-covered slope at night in wind and very low temperatures. "We knew that the clock was ticking and we had very little time," because weather forecasts spoke of intensifying wind, Bielecki said on Polish TVN24.
"Our motivation was to save human life and that's a very, very strong motivation," he said.
Bielecki and Denis Urubko, a Russian climber with Russian and Polish citizenship, reached Revol after a climb of some eight hours. Bielecki said they found her exhausted but conscious. They gave her frostbite medication and nutrients, and after some rest began to slowly lower her down on ropes.
She was then taken to the hospital by a Pakistani helicopter. They did not reach Mackiewicz, who was higher up. "We feel great joy that we were able to save Elizabeth Revol's life," Bielecki said. "On the other hand, we are very sad that we were not able to do more for Tomek," he said.
Two other members of the rescue team were waiting lower down, in a temporary camp. All four are members of a Polish expedition that will attempt the first-ever winter ascent of K2, the world's second tallest mountain. They volunteered for the rescue.
Revol and Mackiewicz were attempting to summit Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest peak in the world at 8,126 meters, or 26,660 feet.
Bielecki said Revol told him they had made it to the top before their problems began.
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