Sister of missing Derbyshire climber calls for fundraising donations as search for him continues

Kate Ballard has posted this photo of her and her brother Tom at the summit of Mont Blanc on Facebook. Photo - Kate Ballard

The sister of a Derbyshire climber who went missing on a peak in Pakistan has shared a poignant picture of them together as the search for him continues.

A GoFundMe campaign has also been launched to help pay for the search for Tom Ballard and his Italian climbing companion Daniele Nardi, who have been missing for over a week.

The pair were trying to reach the summit of Nanga Parbat - nicknamed “Killer Mountain” - but have not been seen or heard from since February 24.

A full-scale search for the climbers is now underway, the BBC is reporting, with Spanish and Pakistani high altitude teams leading the operation.

Climbers Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi have been missing since February 24. Photo - GoFundMe page

Posting on Facebook, Tom's sister Kate Ballard shared a photo of them climbing together and said: "To those beautiful humans that have asked how they can help... Flight time, this is all you can do a Dollar, a Swiss franc, a Euro or a Pound... please. Helicopters, especially in the high mountains of Pakistan are expensive. Anything you can add will add flight time to the rescue."

And donations have so far reached €124,206, just two days after the fundraising campaign was launched.

Tom, originally from Belper, is the son of Alison Hargreaves, who was killed on the K2 mountain in 1995, aged 33.

Nanga Parbat, dubbed “Killer Mountain” after the deaths of several climbers there is the world’s ninth highest mountain.

It has been reported that weather was poor in the area at the time.

A experienced climber, Tom became first person to solo climb all six of the great north faces of the Alps in the winter season.

To donate to the GoFundMe page, click here.