Four Russian climbers missing on Pakistan's K2

ISLAMABAD, Aug 16 (Reuters) Four Russian mountaineers are missing on Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain, after they were apparently swept away in an avalanche, an expedition organiser said today.

The four are from a 10-member international expedition attempting to reach the top of the what experts regard as the world's most difficult mountain to climb.

''Four climbers including the leader of the expedition are missing,'' said Naiknam Karim, general manager of the company organising climb, Adventure Tours Pakistan.

The team -- eight of them Russian, one Irish and one Polish -- had tried to reach the summit of the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) mountain but were beaten back by treacherous weather.

They were apparently on their way back down from their last camp when the four went missing on Sunday.

''There was an avalanche but it's not confirmed they were hit,'' Karim said.

''There is no contact with them. We have no yet received confirmation that they are dead or alive. We're awaiting news from base camp.'' Helicopters had not been able to search because of the very poor weather, he said.

Though not as high as the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) Mount Everest, the world's highest peak on the border of Nepal and Tibet, climbers say K2 is much more difficult.

''Though second in height, technically it's very difficult so we can expect accidents, especially in August when the weather is not so stable,'' Karim said.

The weather is usually most favourable for climbing K2 in June and July, he said.

REUTERS SKU ND1246