French climber Benjamin Vedrines reached the summit of Pakistan's K2, the world's second-highest mountain, in a record of just under 11 hours at the weekend. However, two Japanese climbers are feared dead after a fall on the Western face of the mountain.
The 32-year-old specialist in high-speed ascents – made without the aid of oxygen – left K2 base camp just after midnight on Saturday and reached the summit 10 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds later.
