Drones capture mountain scenery in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) - The use of drones in Pakistan normally brings to mind images of United States (US) spy planes attacking tribal areas. But drones now are being used to capture a different kind of picture in the country - showing some of the world's highest mountains being scaled by world-class climbers through some of Earth's thinnest air.

Drones, or remote-controlled aircraft, have long been the domain of the American military and are used extensively in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghanistan border to spy on and target militants. Recently, however, civilians have increasingly turned to drones to shoot ground-breaking footage of adventure sports.

This summer a Swiss expedition used remote-controlled helicopters to shoot rare footage of climbers on the Karakoram, one of the world's most demanding and formidable mountain ranges.

"People are going to see footage from the Karakoram that no human being has ever seen," said Mr Corey Rich, a photographer and videographer from Lake Tahoe, California, who was on the expedition.