British climber Tom Ballard missing with rescue efforts delayed amid Pakistan crisis

A British climber has gone missing after attempting to scale an infamous peak in Pakistan dubbed 'killer mountain.'

Tom Ballard, 30, the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, and fellow climber Daniele Nardi, 42, were last heard from on Sunday.

There are fears over the fate of the two climbers after they tried to climb the 8,000m Nanga Parbat mountain during treacherous weather conditions.

Efforts to find the pair have been delayed so far amid clashes between the Indian and Pakistani air force in the Kashmir region.

Italian Mr Nardi and Mr Ballard were reported to last be a significant way into their trek up the mountain before they lost contact.

Airspace around the mountain has been temporarily closed as tensions rise in Kashmir, making helicopter rescue impossible.

Mr Ballard’s mother was the first woman to ever solo-climb Mount Everest without oxygen in 1995. Ms Hargreaves died while attempting to climb the summit of K2, the world’s second highest peak.

Mr Ballard was aged six at the time of his mother’s death.

Both Mr Nardi and Mr Ballard were joined by two other climbers, from Pakistan, but the pair had retired from the expedition

On Sunday, Mr Nardi made contact via satellite phone they had reached an altitude of about 6,300 meters, but the ground team has not heard from the experienced climbers since.