Rescuers recover four bodies as search continues for six missing climbers after Broad Peak avalanche
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Rescuers recover four bodies as search continues for six missing climbers after Broad Peak avalanche
ContinuationRescuers recover four bodies as search continues for six missing climbers after Broad Peak avalanche
A large-scale search and rescue operation is underway in northern Pakistan after an avalanche struck a team of 10 climbers on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain at 8,047 meters, officials said on Friday.
Rescuers have located four bodies, though authorities have not yet identified them, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan and regional police. Six climbers, including renowned Nepali-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, remain missing. The avalanche occurred around midday on Thursday, cutting off all communication with the expedition, the club stated.
The team, led by Purja, included climbers from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States, and China. Pakistani police confirmed the nationalities of most members but noted a British couple—a man and a woman—were also among the missing. The group had been attempting to summit Broad Peak in the Karakoram range when the avalanche hit at high altitude.
Search efforts involve ground teams and two military helicopters, though operations are hampered by harsh weather and the extreme terrain above 6,600 meters, according to CNN and the Associated Press. Ayaz Shigri, a senior official with the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told AFP that GPS tracking had pinpointed the location of four climbers, but retrieval remains difficult.
Purja, 43, is a former British military serviceman who gained global recognition in 2019 for scaling all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in 189 days, a record at the time. His achievement was documented in the Netflix film *14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible*. In 2021, he also participated in the first winter ascent of K2. Earlier this week, Purja posted on social media that he was nearing a new milestone: becoming the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the expedition included five Nepali climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nathira, American Mallory Geis, and a Chinese climber identified only as Wang. Geis, 39, had announced on social media that she was closing her Pilates studio to pursue mountaineering full-time.
Broad Peak, though considered less technically demanding than nearby K2, remains one of the most dangerous mountains due to avalanches, sudden weather shifts, and the challenges of high-altitude rescue. The search operation continues, with authorities in contact with the families of the missing climbers. China’s foreign ministry said it was verifying the situation and offered assistance to Pakistan.
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3 further sources not geolocated







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