Mansehra, Pakistan, 3 September (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – An Irish climber death has been confirmed in northern Pakistan after search teams recovered the body of Alexander Mark Harris from a gorge in the Siran Valley, ending a difficult operation involving more than 250 police personnel, mountaineers, forest officials and local residents.
Harris, 30, a dual Irish-British citizen who had been living in Pakistan, disappeared while descending Musa Da Musalla, a mountain rising to about 4,060 metres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district. He had successfully reached the summit before conditions deteriorated during the descent.
Why did the climber go missing during the descent?
Harris travelled to the Siran Valley on 28 August with British national Alun David Cooper Cledwyn. Police later confirmed that a local guide accompanied them and that all three reached the summit before beginning their descent on 30 August.
According to the guide’s preliminary statement, which police said Cledwyn also confirmed, Harris moved considerably ahead of his companions as heavy rain and thick fog reduced visibility. His absence was discovered after the others reached the base camp.
Police said forest officials and local residents eventually found his body in a gorge in the densely wooded Paracha Khatta area.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Nasir Mehmood Satti, who led the operation, said: “It appeared that the foreign mountaineer … slipped amid dense fog and rainy weather.”
However, authorities have not formally established the precise cause of death. A police official involved in the operation said it would be premature to reach a definitive conclusion before the medico-legal process was completed.
How difficult was the search and recovery operation?
The search involved more than 250 police personnel alongside two groups of trained mountaineers, Forest Department staff, Rescue 1122 officials and local residents familiar with the terrain. Earlier efforts were hampered by heavy fog, intermittent rain, oxygen deficiency and difficult mountain tracks.
Before Harris was found, Satti told reporters that 15 teams, sniffer dogs and drones were involved in the operation as rescuers attempted to locate him despite the conditions.
After the body was located, rescuers took around four hours to carry it to the police base camp at Mandachucha before it was transferred to a health facility for medico-legal procedures.
Satti said: “The Hazara police are committed to the safety and protection of foreign visitors.” He added that the operation had been completed in exceptionally difficult terrain and poor weather.
What happens next after the Siran Valley tragedy?
The Irish climber death will now move through the required medico-legal and administrative procedures. Harris’s family had reached Islamabad, according to police, with authorities pledging assistance in completing the necessary formalities.
Police also said Harris and Cledwyn had travelled to the valley without obtaining a no-objection certificate from police or other relevant departments. The case underlines the risks posed by rapidly changing weather, limited visibility and difficult terrain for climbers visiting Pakistan’s remote mountain regions.
