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A renowned Norwegian mountaineer has denied claims her team stepped over a dying helper while climbing K2 – one of the tallest peaks on the planet – as part of a world record bid.

Kristin Harila, 37, says she is the victim of “misinformation” and has had “hatred” aimed at her – including death threats.

Last month, she became the fastest climber to scale all the world’s 14 highest mountains – completing the achievement in just 92 days.

Her final climb was of K2 on 27 July, after which she arrived with fellow record-breaker, Nepali mountaineer Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, in Kathmandu to a hero’s welcome.

But during the K2 climb, a local helper who was part of a team ahead of them, slipped a few metres from a narrow ledge, became tangled in ropes and later died on the mountain.

Video has emerged showing climbers appearing to step over the high porter, named as 27-year-old father-of-three Muhammad Hassan, from Pakistan.

A mountaineer attempts to help 27-year-old father-of-three Muhammad Hassan, a high porter who died on K2. Pic: ServusTV
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A mountaineer attempts to help Muhammad Hassan. Pic: ServusTV

Two men, who were climbing K2 on the same day, have since criticised the group, and claimed Mr Hassan was treated like a “second-class human being” by other climbers.

However, Ms Harila told Sky News her team “tried for hours to save” Mr Hassan – and that one member even took off his oxygen mask and gave it to him because he did not have one of his own.

“We were just behind him when he fell,” she said.

“We saw him hanging upside down – very early on we decided we needed to try and turn him around.

Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila, 37, along with Nepali mountaineer Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, 35, pose for a picture upon their arrival at the airport after becoming the world's fastest climbers to scale all peaks above 8,000 meters in the shortest time, in Kathmandu, Nepal, August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
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Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila with Nepali mountaineer Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa

“Lama tried to turn him around, but he wasn’t able to because this is a very narrow and very steep place, and it is not safe to stay here.”

Ms Harila said it took around an hour to bring Mr Hassan back on to the trail, at what she described as a “dangerous bottleneck”, with ice and snow hanging over it.

She said the group also decided to split, with her and Lama continuing to the top of the mountain, after her forward fixing team ran into their own difficulties.

“The main reason that we got this message on the radio that the fixing team were having problems,” she said.

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‘We tried for hours to save him’

“So we had to make a decision to split up. And in this place, it is a very, very narrow trail, and it is impossible to have 10 people help around because there’s only room for one behind and one in front.

“We decided to split up, but we were sure he was still to get help.”

Asked about the location of the incident, she said: “This is probably the most dangerous part of K2 and K2 is probably the most dangerous mountain of all the big mountains.

“We know it is very risky to stay there – but we had to try to save him.”

She said her cameraman, Gabrielle, remained with Mr Hassan, and gave him warm water and oxygen by giving him his own mask.

Ms Harila previously hit back at criticism of her decision to continue to the summit in a post on Instagram.

“I am angry at how many people have been blaming others for this tragic accident,” she wrote.

“This was no one’s fault, you cannot comment when you do not understand the situation, and sending death threats is never okay.”

After reaching the top, Ms Harila filmed an “emotional” video celebrating their record-breaking climb.

She said she only discovered Mr Hassan had died as she climbed down the mountain, and that she and her team were unable to recover his body because it was “impossible to safely carry him down”.

“It is truly tragic what happened, and I feel very strongly for the family. If anything, I hope we can learn something from this tragedy,” she added.

K2, referred to as "killer mountain", is located in the Karakorum mountain range and is 8,611-metres (28,250-foot) high. Pic: Red Bull Content Pool/AP images
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K2, referred to as ‘killer mountain’, is located in the Karakorum mountain range. File pic: AP

German cameraman Philip Flaemig was on K2 at the time and recorded drone footage – but decided not to continue up the mountain as the conditions were too dangerous.

He said when he reviewed the video footage back at base camp, he saw dozens of people walking over Mr Hassan.

“He was still alive. In the next picture, there was just one person rubbing him, and I said: ‘Why? Why haven’t they brought him down?'”

“From my expertise of mountaineering – and I have been doing this 35 years – nobody can tell me that this man couldn’t have been helped.

German cameraman Philip Flaemig, who was on K2 when 27-year-old father-of-three Muhammad Hassan died.
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German cameraman Philip Flaemig

“There are examples more and more about people at 8,000m who help people down. I know where he was found. I know what is the possibility to bring him down. It’s only snow slopes.

“There’s no reasonable explanation for this kind of behaviour.”

Austrian mountaineer Wilhelm Steindl, who was also on the mountain that day, but turned back due to the conditions, told Austria’s Standard newspaper: “lt would be unthinkable in the Alps.

“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.”

Read more from Sky News:
Body of climber missing since 1986 discovered on melting Swiss glacier
Sherpa guides rescue freezing climber from Everest ‘death zone’

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June: ‘Almost impossible’ rescue from Mt. Everest

Mr Steindl has since visited Mr Hassan’s family and has set up a GoFundMe page hoping to raise up to €100,000 (£86,500) to support them.

“He was 27 years old and had a family with three young children,” he said.

“When we found out about the family, we personally went to the mountain village to support the family.

Wilhelm Steindl with the family of 27-year-old father-of-three Muhammad Hassan, from Pakistan, a high porter who died on the K2 mountain during an expedition to the summit.
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Wilhelm Steindl with the family of Muhammad Hassan

“The mother is desperate because she has no financial means. In these remote villages, women are not educated and cannot earn money in the strictly Muslim country.”

K2 is widely regarded as the one of the hardest peaks in mountaineering – with 2018 figures showing that over a fifth of attempted ascents end in death.

Experts say K2 – the world’s second-tallest mountain above sea level – is even more dangerous than Everest – the tallest – because less of the mountain flattens off, and it is prone to avalanches and rock falls.

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IDF admits mistakenly identifying Gaza aid workers as threat – after video of attack showed ambulances were marked

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IDF admits mistakenly identifying Gaza aid workers as threat - after video of attack showed ambulances were marked

The IDF has admitted to mistakenly identifying a convoy of aid workers as a threat – following the emergence of a video which proved their ambulances were clearly marked when Israeli troops opened fire on them.

The bodies of 15 aid workers – including eight medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – were found in a “mass grave” after the incident, according to the head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Jonathan Whittall.

The Israeli military originally claimed an investigation found the vehicles did not have any headlights or emergency signals and were therefore targeted as they looked “suspicious”.

But video footage obtained by the PRCS, and verified by Sky News, showed the ambulances and a fire vehicle clearly marked with flashing red lights.

In a briefing from the IDF, they said the ambulances arrived in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah shortly after a Hamas police vehicle drove through.

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
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Palestinians mourning the medics after their bodies were recovered. Pic: Reuters

An IDF surveillance aircraft was watching the movement of the ambulances and notified troops on the ground. The IDF said it will not be releasing that footage.

When the ambulances arrived, the soldiers opened fire, thinking the medics were a threat, according to the IDF.

The soldiers were surprised by the convoy stopping on the road and several people getting out quickly and running, the IDF claimed, adding the soldiers were unaware the suspects were in fact unarmed medics.

An Israeli military official would not say how far away troops were when they fired on the vehicles.

The IDF acknowledged that its statement claiming that the ambulances had their lights off was incorrect, and was based on the testimony from the soldiers in the incident.

The newly emerged video footage showed that the ambulances were clearly identifiable and had their lights on, the IDF said.

The IDF added that there will be a re-investigation to look into this discrepancy.

The clip is filmed through a vehicle windscreen - with three red light vehicles visible in front
Image:
The clip is filmed through a vehicle windscreen – with three red light vehicles visible in front

Addressing the fact the aid workers’ bodies were buried in a mass grave, the IDF said in its briefing this is an approved and regular practice to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses.

The IDF could not explain why the ambulances were also buried.

The IDF said six of the 15 people killed were linked to Hamas, but revealed no detail to support the claim.

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Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza

The newly emerged footage of the incident was discovered on a phone belonging to one of the workers who was killed, PRCS president Dr Younis Al Khatib said.

“His phone was found with his body and he recorded the whole event,” he said. “His last words before being shot, ‘Forgive me, mom. I just wanted to help people. I wanted to save lives’.”

Sky News used an aftermath video and satellite imagery to verify the location and timing of the newly emerged footage of the incident.

More from Sky News:
Israeli troops expand Gaza ‘security zone’
What happened to the ceasefire?

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Aid worker attacks increasing

It was filmed on 23 March north of Rafah and shows a convoy of marked ambulances and a fire-fighting vehicle travelling south along a road towards the city centre. All the vehicles visible in the convoy have their flashing lights on.

The footage was filmed early in the morning, with a satellite image seen by Sky News taken at 9.48am local time on the same day showing a group of vehicles bunched together off the road.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes swipe at US over ‘weak’ comment on Russian attack – as Ukrainian drones strike factory

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes swipe at US over 'weak' comment on Russian attack - as Ukrainian drones strike factory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hit out at the US over its “weak” response to lethal Russian attacks on his hometown on Friday.

President Zelenskyy posted a lengthy and emotional statement on X about Russia’s strikes on Kryvyi Rih, which killed 19 people.

Meanwhile Ukrainian drones hit an explosives factory in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight strike, a member of Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters.

In his post, President Zelenskyy accused the United States of being “afraid” to name-check Russia in its comment on the attack.

“Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people – and such a weak reaction,” he wrote on X.

“They are even afraid to say the word “Russian” when talking about the missile that killed children.”

America’s ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink had written on X: “Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih.

“More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end.”

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Strike on Zelenskyy’s home city

President Zelenskyy went on in his post to say: “Yes, the war must end. But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade.

“We must not be afraid to put pressure on the only one who continues this war and ignores all the world’s proposals to end it. We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a ceasefire.”

Grandmother ‘burned to death in her home’

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s defense council, said the missile attack, followed by a drone attack, had killed 19 people, including nine children.

“The Iskander-M missile strike with cluster munitions at the children’s playground in the residential area, to make the shrapnel fly further apart, killed 18 people.

“One grandmother was burnt to death in her house after Shahed’s direct hit.”

Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck a military gathering in a restaurant – an assertion rebutted by the Ukrainian military as misinformation.

“The missile hit right on the street – around ordinary houses, a playground, shops, a restaurant,” President Zelenskyy wrote.

Mr Zelenskyy also detailed the child victims of the attack including “Konstantin, who will be 16 forever” and “Arina, who will also be 7 forever”.

The UK’s chief of the defence staff Sir Tony Radakin said he had met the Ukrainian leader on Friday, along with French armed forces leader General Thierry Burkhard.

“Britain and France are coming together & Europe is stepping up in a way that is real & substantial, with 200 planners from 30 nations working to strengthen Ukraine’s long term security,” Sir Tony wrote.

The UK and France have spearheaded a so-called “coalition of the willing” – a group of countries that have pledged to help Ukraine secure if a ceasefire deal is reached with Russia.

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Global markets have given Trump a clear no-confidence vote – and his fickleness is making the problem worse

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Global markets have given Trump a clear no-confidence vote - and his fickleness is making the problem worse

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced global tariffs, ratcheting up protectionism. Pic: Reuters

04 April 2025, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Stock exchange traders watch their monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange while the display board with the Dax curve shows falling prices. US President Trump had issued a huge tariff package against trading partners around the world. The European Union and China have already announced countermeasures. Photo by: Arne Dedert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Traders at the Frankfurt stock exchange watched the DAX plummet on Friday. Pic: Picture-alliance/dpa/AP

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
No winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

Aerial view of a ro-ro terminal for vehicle shipment in Yantai in eastern China's Shandong province, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT
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Vehicles destined for export, like these in Yantai in eastern China, face massive US tariffs. Pic: Chinatopix/AP

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Container ports like Oakland in California might expect activity to fall. Pic: AP

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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