Islamabad, Jul 26 (IANS): A search operation is underway to find a missing South Korean climber at the Karakoram mountain range, a Pakistani private tour operator said.

The climber, identified as Kim Hong-bin, went missing after falling into a crevasse while he was descending from the Broad Peak, the world's 12th highest peak, Xinhua news agency quoted Haji Ghulam Muhammad, head of Blue Sky Treks and Tours, as saying on Sunday.

Two helicopters from Pakistan's Askari Aviation have been dispatched to the area where the clumber is believed to have fallen, Muhammad said, adding that some other mountaineers who were at the Broad Peak are also taking part in the operation.

He added that the climber might have fallen on the Chinese side of the mountain and that "Chinese teams are also taking part in the search operation for the mountaineer".

"Kim was a fingerless climber with a passion for climbing. He scaled the 8,047-meter Broad Peak last Sunday (July 18), making him the first disabled mountaineer to scale all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, but it is unfortunate he couldn't make it on the way back," said Karar Haidri, secretary general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

Haidri said that Kim had lost all his fingers to frostbite about 30 years ago, but had nevertheless continued with his passion of mountaineering.

He added that the expedition was initially planned last year, but Kim had to postpone it for a year due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.