Group #TomekMackiewicz43 Statement

Warsaw, 12 February 2018

Dear All,

Since the first day on which we created the Group #Tomek Mackiewicz 43, we were driven by an impulse of solidarity with Tomek Mackiewicz and the hope to save him. We tried to soberly evaluate the situation.

Having residual, often contradictory information from Nanga Parbat, we made every effort to ensure that every decision or action we take had a reliable basis, based on expert knowledge.

Having acquired the information that it is highly possible and basically certain that Tomasz Mackiewicz may survive yet another and yet another day, we made a decision to organize a rescue expedition. This venture is complex and difficult to perform. The action was supposed to be carried out on the territory of foreign country under extremely difficult conditions. With great determination, we overcame cropping up obstacles, engaged ever newer institutions and decision-making people. We were blazing the trail in the face of lack of procedures and international agreements.

Unfortunately, time flows relentlessly. Today, 14 days after we commenced our mission full of hope, filled with pain and helpless due to protracting procedures and arrangements, we decided to end the action, which was aimed at finding Tomasz Mackiewicz.

We acknowledge that the time window for the rescue expedition has closed.

In the course of our activities, we have gained vast knowledge and shared experience - for everyone. We have blazed many a trail that no one thought of before or which did not even exist. We will do our best not to squander this capital of knowledge and will try to pass it to people and institutions responsible for saving Polish citizens in critical situations. So that no other Pole has to be abandoned in times of need ever again. So that Tomasz's sacrifice is not in vain. His name will live in the hearts of many of us.

We thank all who supported our efforts with words and actions. Thanks to people of great faith we pushed forward and did not succumb to doubt. We understand those who did not agree with our evaluation of the situation. Everyone has the right to own assessments of what happened on "Killer Mountain" Nanga Parbat.

We believed that Tomek could have been saved. It will stay that way.

We thank the donors who paid money to the borrowed account of the "Wprost" weekly Foundation, which collected funds for the rescue expedition. In relation to decision to terminate the organizational activities connected with the expedition and in accordance with previous communicates in this matter, we inform that all the money will immediately return to the donors. We are not entitled to convey these funds for other purposes – because they were collected for this one specifically – Rescue Expedition. We run the action as volunteers; thereby we did not spend one coin from the received funds.

We believe that this death was not in vain.

Because the spirit of the deceased shall survive in the memory of the living