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K2: Noel Hanna to return to mountain to find climbers' bodies

Noel Hanna wants to help to find the bodies of the lost members of his team

A County Down mountaineer is hoping to return to K2 as part of a search team to recover the bodies of five climbers who died during a recent expedition.

Last month Noel Hanna had to abandon his attempt to reach the summit of the world's second-highest mountain.

He was aiming to be the first person from the island of Ireland to reach the peak of K2 during winter.

But bad weather struck, leading to the deaths of some of his fellow climbers and forcing an end to the expedition.

Noel Hanna Tents at the base camp in the shadow of K2Noel Hanna
Although Noel has scaled K2 before he was aiming to do it in the winter for the first time

Among those who lost their lives was Ali Sadpara, a well-known international mountaineer and a hero in his native Pakistan.

After Noel returned to his home in Finnis, near Dromara, he told BBC News NI: "There is talk that there might be a search whenever the weather gets better again to try and locate the bodies.

"I've volunteered to Ali's son and the Pakistan Climbing Association that I'd be happy to look for the climbers.

"It'll probably be from the middle of June until the end of July when that happens.

"Hopefully they will decide before the end of May so I can get my visa and go back and help."

Noel Hanna Noel Hanna on the slopes of K2Noel Hanna
Noel records a video diary of his expeditions

Noel is an experienced climber who has scaled K2 in the summer months and has also climbed Mount Everest - the highest peak in the world - nine times.

Tragedies are not uncommon but for adventurers like Noel the lure of the big peaks is impossible to resist.

"On the expedition there were five people who lost their lives," he said.

"Two were from falls and three from going for the summit and not returning.

Noel Hanna A climber using ropes to scale a steep, rocky section of K2Noel Hanna
Noel says he thinks about his safety when climbing after the deaths of his fellow mountaineers

"There were probably seven or eight climbers coming down that morning when unfortunately a Bulgarian climber fell about 15ft (4.6m) in front of me - he fell almost 2,000m (6,562ft).

"Three of the other climbers that unfortunately passed away on the mountain, I had climbed with them on previous expeditions - I was quite friendly with them."

Their deaths have made him consider his own safety.

"[After such tragedies] you be more careful yourself," he said.

Noel Hanna Mountain tops as viewed from the slopes of K2Noel Hanna
Noel has scaled summits and taken part in endurance races all around the world

"When you are coming down you are thinking: 'I'm going to clip on here twice' or just be more careful of the anchors and the ropes.

"You know going out on to the mountain that if there are 20 climbers... that very rarely the whole 20 climbers are coming back."

Before going on the recovery mission, Noel has another big expedition planned.

He is returning to Mount Everest in April for the 10th time.