Portishead dad airlifted from K2 base camp fundraiser

A man who was airlifted to hospital during a fundraising climb to the base camp of K2 has said he was "terrified" of what may happen to him.

Saadat Mumtaz, 48, from Portishead, near Bristol, was rescued from Urdakas - a check point at 4,034 metres (13,234 ft) on the descent of K2.

He needed medical treatment after becoming unwell with high altitude pulmonary edema.

The 48-year-old was raising money for Brain Tumour Research.

He was attempting the challenge in memory of his mum, Saeeda Bano, who died age 34, of an inoperable glioblastoma - an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.

But Mr Mumtaz' climb to the base camp of the highest mountain in Pakistan ended abruptly.

Reflecting on the rescue, Mr Mumtaz said: "I had heard of people dying in their tents in the night and I was terrified that would happen to me."

Mr Mumtaz had hiked in the Deosai National Park, with its high-altitude alpine plain and trekked in the Sarfaranga Cold Desert North of Skardu, to prepare for the K2 base camp challenge, which set off on 9 July.

But, Mr Mumtaz, who made it home on 2 August, said: "Around the day before we reached our finishing point, I began to feel unwell.

"I was exhausted, felt breathless and had sleepless nights where it felt like someone was choking me."

After being airlifted to hospital on 21 July, a CT scan and ECG [electrocardiogram] showed no further cause for concern but he had experienced high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), where blood vessels in the lungs squeeze together, increasing pressure.

Mr Mumtaz credits his rescue to a team of military colonels from Taxila and Islamabad.

He said: "Within half an hour of being in hospital my breathing returned to normal."

Mr Mumtaz' two sons Sinan, 18 and Hashim, 20, went on to complete the trek to base camp alone and had an anxious wait to find out their dad was safe.

"As a parent, you want to remain strong for your children and all I could think about were my two sons, they had no idea how I was, and I was worried about them," Mr Mumtaz said.

"It was a relief when I saw Sinan and Hashim walking towards me and the reunion was full of emotion."

Mr Mumtaz said that he "underestimated" the toughness of the challenge despite training and that it took a "tremendous" amount of emotional strength to get as far as he did.

Despite suffering with some fatigue since his ordeal, he said he is now planning a new challenge next year to ride his motorbike more than 5,100 miles from Portishead to Islamabad in Pakistan to raise money in his mothers memory.

Mel Tiley, community and development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said they were "grateful" for Mr Mumtaz and "pleased" he is on the road to recovery.

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