Pakistan rescues injured Italian, Russian climbers in north Pakistan

A Pakistani official says an army helicopter has rescued an Italian and a Russian climber stranded on a treacherous peak in the country's north.

Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, says Francesco Cassardo of Italy and Konstantin Sidorov of Russia were found on Gasherbrum peak in the Karakoram range after they got injured amid bad weather.

Haidri says the army's "daring rescue" on Monday got both safely off the mountain.

Hundreds of local and foreign climbers scale different mountains and peaks in northern Pakistan every year; accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden changes in weather.

Last month, Pakistan rescued four Italian and two Pakistani mountaineers after they were stranded following an avalanche in Ishkoman Valley. A third Pakistani member of the expedition was killed.