ISLAMABAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani army on Saturday started an operation to rescue two European climbers stuck on Pakistan's second highest peak in the country's northern areas, local media reported.

A Polish man, Tomek Mackiewicz, and a French woman, Elisabeth Revol, were attempting to ascend Nanga Parbat when they got stuck at the level of 7,400 meters, Geo News said, adding that the duo began their expedition to scale Nanga Parbat on Jan. 8, but communication with them was severed on Thursday.

The two climbers were spotted by other climbers at the base camp of the mountain on Friday at an altitude of 7,400 meters. Strong winds and freezing temperatures were making it difficult for them to climb down the mountain, said media reports.

According to Pakistani authorities, a four-member team of Polish climbers and skilled pilots of the army will take part in the rescue operation and the rescue is being coordinated with the embassies of France and Poland in Pakistan.

On June 27 last year, two mountaineers, Alberto Zerain, a Spanish alpinist, and Mariano Galvan, an Argentinian national, went missing while trying to climb the same peak, according to local reports.

Mountaineers nicknamed Nanga Parbat as "Killer Mountain" after more than 30 climbers died trying to conquer it before the first successful summit in 1953.