Rescuers, aided by military helicopters, resumed their search Saturday for at least six members of a 10-member expedition swept away by an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. The operation comes a day after authorities recovered four bodies from the mountain.
Officials stated that Omani climber Nathira Ahmed's remains were being flown to the capital, Islamabad. The bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung are being held at a hospital in Skardu, the main city in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The search and rescue efforts are ongoing, though hopes are fading.
The team lost contact with its base camp on Thursday following an avalanche that struck Broad Peak as they were attempting to scale the mountain, according to Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. Experienced Pakistani climbers and army helicopters are involved in the ongoing search and rescue operation.
The expedition included five Nepalese climbers, the Omani and American climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, a Chinese climber identified as Wang, and another foreign climber whose identity has not yet been released. The team was led by renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, known as Nims Dai, who previously set a record for climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks.
Accidents are a common occurrence on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan, attributed to factors such as avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude, and rapidly changing weather conditions. Broad Peak is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with a summit elevation of 8,051 meters (26,414 feet).