SINGAPORE: Singaporean mountaineers Robert Goh and Edwin Siew have abandoned their bid to scale K2, the world's second highest peak.
The duo's decision came one week after a huge chunk of ice fell off the face of the mountain just below the summit, killing 11 climbers.
The incident leaves only two other teams at base camp - one from Romania, and the other from the US.
Since Saturday's incident, the Singapore climbers have been assisting in the evacuation of three injured climbers.
After the last survivor was evacuated, the Singaporeans discussed their options with the two other remaining teams, and among themselves before deciding to leave.
Dr Goh said: "Since coming down the base camp, we have spoken to a lot of the survivors of the K2, and a lot of them warned us about the serac, which is the hanging glacier or the hanging huge chunk of ice being unstable. And that we should be extremely careful and cautious if we want to go up there. After weighing the pros and the cons, we found that the odds are greatly against us. So it was with a very reluctant and heavy heart that we decided to give it a go this time."
The two Singaporeans are expected to start trekking from base camp on August 15 and arrive in Islamabad around August 25.
- 938LIVE
The duo's decision came one week after a huge chunk of ice fell off the face of the mountain just below the summit, killing 11 climbers.
The incident leaves only two other teams at base camp - one from Romania, and the other from the US.
Since Saturday's incident, the Singapore climbers have been assisting in the evacuation of three injured climbers.
After the last survivor was evacuated, the Singaporeans discussed their options with the two other remaining teams, and among themselves before deciding to leave.
Dr Goh said: "Since coming down the base camp, we have spoken to a lot of the survivors of the K2, and a lot of them warned us about the serac, which is the hanging glacier or the hanging huge chunk of ice being unstable. And that we should be extremely careful and cautious if we want to go up there. After weighing the pros and the cons, we found that the odds are greatly against us. So it was with a very reluctant and heavy heart that we decided to give it a go this time."
The two Singaporeans are expected to start trekking from base camp on August 15 and arrive in Islamabad around August 25.
- 938LIVE
