British climbers rescued by helicopter from Pakistani mountain after Austrian counterpart dies

Bruce Normand and Timothy Miller left stranded at 19,000ft by an avalanche on Ultar Sar

Two British mountaineers were rescued from a remote 19,000ft-high peak by helicopter after their climbing partner was killed in an avalanche.

Scotsmen Bruce Normand and Timothy Miller were left stranded for two days when a storm hit their tent as they scaled Ultar Sar near Hunza in northeast Pakistan.

Video footage and photographs showed the helicopter landing on a thin, snow-covered ridge to lift the pair to safety.

Austrian mountaineer Christian Huber died in the avalanche (AP)

The body of their Austrian climbing partner, Christian Huber, was also recovered during the operation by the 5th Pakistan Army Aviation Squadron.

Thomas Drew, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, praised the "remarkable and dangerous rescue".

Ultar Sar is regarded as one of the most dangerous summits in the world and was once thought to be the highest unclimbed peak after a series of failed expeditions during the 1980s and 1990s.

The summit was first reached in 1996 by two members of the Japanese Alpine Club.

Mr Normand and his two fellow mountaineers were sleeping in tents when the avalanche struck on Friday.

Following the rescue on Sunday, a photo released by the Pakistan Army showed Mr Miller and Mr Normand posing with their rescuers at the base of the mountain.

They were later taken to a hospital in Islamabad for medical checks.

Mr Normand is a Cambridge University graduate and physics professor with nearly 30 years climbing experience, according to the Daily Record. Both he and Mr Miller are from Glasgow.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.