Fears were growing last night for the safety of Gerard McDonnell, the 37-year-old Limerick climber who last Friday became the first Irishman to reach the summit of K2.

McDonnell was one of a number of climbers who were reported to be missing as at least 12 got into trouble making their descent from the top of the 8,611m Himalayan mountain.

Dispatches from base camp, on what is considered to be one of the world’s most dangerous mountains, said: “We still do not know where Gerard is.”

Rescuers were hoping that a lone figure seen making his or her way down the mountain in an orange jacket late last night could be McDonnell. Attempts were being made to reach the person whose identity has not been confirmed.

Rescue attempts involving helicopters, high-altitude porters and other climbing teams were launched in a bid to make contact with McDonnell, other members of the Dutch team whom he was with and several climbers from other countries who had reached the summit of the mountain.

Reports of eyewitness accounts suggested that at least four descending climbers had been swept away in a possible avalanche or by falling ice.

It was reported that others were trapped at high altitude after their fixed ropes were destroyed, either in the same incident or by another incident involving falling ice.

Some reports yesterday said two climbers, a Korean and a Serb, were dead and seven were missing. Dren Mandic, the Serbian climber, was reported to have fallen to his death 400m from the summit of K2 on the way up. Others suggested that a Norwegian had also been killed and that six people were missing on the way down.

Pat Falvey, the Irish adventurer and a friend of McDonnell, was “extremely worried” last night as he tried to make sense of the reports. Rolf Bae, another friend of his, is the Norwegian climber believed to have been killed.

Bae had been in the group of four that were reportedly swept away, and Falvey said that McDonnell might have been climbing with him as the two are also friends.

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