KATHMANDU: Rescue teams have recovered four bodies from the site of the avalanche that struck Pakistan’s Broad Peak on Thursday, while search operations continue for several climbers who remain missing, including renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said the 10-member expedition consisted of six Nepali climbers, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American, and one Chinese climber. The missing Nepalis were identified as Nirmal Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, and Gyalu Sherpa. The other climbers were Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy of Oman, Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Wang Zhong of China, and Mallory Geis of the United States.
According to ACP President Major General Irfan Arshad, four bodies had been found. He confirmed that two of the deceased were Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy and Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung.
The avalanche hit the team around midday on Thursday on Broad Peak, an 8,047-meter mountain in the Karakoram range, Dawn reported.
In a statement issued earlier Friday, ACP Senior Vice President Karrar Haidri said two rescue helicopters from the Pakistan Army’s Aviation Wing had been deployed along with rescue personnel and specialized equipment to support the ongoing search mission.
The ACP said its leadership remains in constant coordination with government authorities and relevant agencies to facilitate the rescue effort.
“Every possible effort is being made to mobilize helicopter support and all available rescue resources at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions,” the statement said.
According to ACP General Secretary Ayaz Shigri, several expedition teams had launched a joint summit push before the avalanche occurred. GPS data received from some of the missing climbers suggested that the avalanche swept the group nearly 1,000 meters downhill, leaving them trapped.
Helicopter-assisted rescue operations were expected to intensify on Friday, while concerns were also raised that local high-altitude porters may have been affected.
Nepal’s Purja, 43, is one of the world’s most celebrated mountaineers. A former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service, he set a world record in 2019 by climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters in six months and six days. In 2021, he also took part in the first winter ascent of K2 by an all-Nepali team.
Sakhi, a climber from Hunza, had successfully summited Kanchenjunga in Nepal earlier this year and is known for climbing K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II without supplemental oxygen, establishing himself as one of Pakistan’s leading high-altitude climbers.
Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains, was first successfully climbed in 1957 by a four-member Austrian expedition. Since that historic ascent, numerous mountaineers have reached the summit of the 8,051-meter (26,414-foot) peak, but the mountain has also claimed many lives.
The year 2013 was particularly tragic for Broad Peak, becoming one of its deadliest seasons with at least six recorded fatalities. In March of that year, two Polish climbers, aged 27 and 58, were declared dead after disappearing during their descent from the summit.
Later the same year, three Iranian climbers also went missing and were presumed dead, while a German climber lost her life after slipping and being swept away by a mountain stream.
(Inputs from Dawn and AP)
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