ISLAMABAD, June 16 -- One of the two Japanese climbers who were climbing a northern mountain in Pakistan has been found dead, local authorities told Xinhua.

The two climbers were attempting to scale the 7,027-meter Mount Spantik in the Karakoram range before they went missing last week, Wali Ullah Falahi, deputy commissioner of Shigar district in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, told Xinhua on Sunday.

The dead body was found Saturday noon 300 to 350 meters down between Camp 2 and Camp 3, Falahi said.

He said the two climbers were part of a group of seven other Japanese climbers who started their expedition from May 30 onwards and went together to the base camp, which is around 4,350 meters high.

The two independent climbers from the base camp started the expedition of reaching the Spantik Peak, also known as Golden Peak, in Alpine style without having any porter, Falahi said.

After crossing the camp 2 which is around 5,300 meters, the seven climbers didn't find any footprint of the two independent climbers, he said, adding, "On June 12 we got information and then coordinated the search operation."

Pakistani army helicopters, along with the high-altitude porters, took part in the search operation and located the dead body, according to Falahi.

  - Xinhua