Mountaineer denies climbing over dying helper on K2 during record attempt

A Norwegian mountaineer has denied her team stepped over a dying helper while climbing K2, the world's second highest mountain, ITV News' Louise Scott has the latest

By Elaine McCallig, ITV News Digital Content Producer

Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila has denied her team stepped over a dying helper while attempting to set a world record on K2, the world's second highest mountain.

Harila, 37, and her guide Tenjen Sherpa, 35, set a new record by scaling the world’s 14 highest peaks in just 92 days.

But the record has ignited controversy over whether reaching the summit to break the world record was prioritised over helping dying Pakistani porter Mohammed Hassan.

It has also sparked a conversation over the exploitation of local labour on the world's most dangerous peaks.

Harila insists her team tried to help the porter but the conditions on the mountain on the Pakistan-China border meant it would be too dangerous to move him.

A party was later hosted at the base camp to celebrate Harila's success.

Videos have since emerged showing mountaineers stepping over the 27-year-old father-of-three.

This video contains images some viewers may find upsetting

The rope-fixer had fallen off a sheer edge at a height of about 8,200 metres and lay prone along a narrow path known as the Bottleneck.

Harila's denial comes after two other climbers on the mountain that day alleged "a living human was left lying so that records could be set."

Austrian climbers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flämig said drone footage captured that day shows around 50 mountaineers climbing over Hassan's body.

Speaking to Austria's Standard newspaper, Flämig said Hassan was only treated by one person "while everyone else [pushed] towards the summit".

“Such a thing would be unthinkable in the Alps," Steindl added. "He was treated like a second-class human being.

“If he had been a westerner, he would have been rescued immediately.

“No one felt responsible for him. What happened there is a disgrace. A living human was left lying so that records could be set.”

Steindl said he did not attend the party at the base camp after the world record was set.

"It disgusted me. A person died up there," he said.

The two Austrian men visited Hassan's family after the incident. His widow said it was her husband's first time on the mountain - a job he took to help pay for his diabetic mother's medical bills.

In a statement posted to her website, Harila said "misinformation and hatred" had spread online and revealed she had received death threats amid the allegations.

She said Hassan was not wearing the proper clothing, leaving his stomach exposed to the cold when he fell. He was also not wearing gloves.

Her team tried to help Hassan and along with the help of another man, they were able to pull him on to a snow shelf on the bottleneck.

Her cameraman, Gabriel, stayed with him "as long as he could before he had to leave to get more oxygen for his own safety."

"I don’t think people understood the gravity of what was happening with Hassan as they were climbing, and that is why we see they are stepping over him to reach safety on the other side," she wrote.

"Back in base camp, we heard that people thought no-one had helped him but we had. We had done our best, especially Gabriel. It is truly tragic what happened, and I feel very strongly for the family."

K2 has one of the deadliest records for mountaineers, with most climbers dying on the descent, where the slightest mistake can trigger an avalanche and become fatal.

Only a few hundred climbers have successfully reached its summit.

A GoFund Me to support Hassan's three children has since been set up by Steindl.

So far, it has raised €98,000 (£84,000) of its €100,000 (£86,000) goal.

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