"Stop Secondary Accidents" Search for Captain Kim Hong-bin Suspended at Family's Request

Initiation of Funeral Procedures

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The search for Captain Kim Hong-bin, the first disabled person to complete all 14 Himalayan peaks, who went missing during his descent, has been suspended.

The Gwangju City Accident Response Committee announced on the 26th that they decided to halt the search out of respect for the wishes of Captain Kim's family (spouse).

Before attempting to climb Broad Peak, Captain Kim reportedly asked his family to prevent secondary accidents during search operations in case of an accident.

Accordingly, Captain Kim's wife, considering the ruggedness of the accident site and the results of the helicopter search the previous day, judged that the possibility of survival was realistically low and requested the suspension of further search efforts.

The local rescue team also expressed their intention to respect this decision.

On the previous day, a rescue helicopter conducted a search over the presumed missing location but could not visually confirm Captain Kim. The footage taken from the helicopter was analyzed at the base camp but also failed to locate him.

Considering the achievements of Captain Kim, a representative mountaineer of South Korea, the process will be carried out in the most honorable manner.

They plan to refer to the mountaineering honors awarded to Captain Ko Mi-young in 2009, Captain Park Young-seok in 2011, and Captain Kim Chang-ho in 2018.

In recognition of Captain Kim's merits, they plan to recommend to the government the highest grade of the Sports Medal (Grade 1), the ‘Cheongryongjang’ (Blue Dragon Medal). If recommended by the Korea Alpine Federation, the government will review it, and the final decision will be made by the President.

Jo In-cheol, chairman of the response committee, said, “We are grateful to the governments of Pakistan and China for their maximum support in the rescue of Captain Kim Hong-bin.”

Meanwhile, on the 18th at 4:58 PM (local time), Captain Kim summited Broad Peak (8,074 m) in the northeastern part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and suffered an accident near 7,900 m during his descent. The next morning, he was found by a Russian rescue team but went missing after falling while climbing up using a jumar (ascender).