Four Bodies Recovered After Broad Peak Avalanche in Pakistan
SKARDU_Search-and-rescue teams recovered four bodies on Friday near the site of an avalanche that struck an international climbing expedition on Broad Peak in northern Pakistan, while efforts continued to determine the fate of the remaining missing climbers, police said.
The avalanche hit the expedition on Thursday in the Karakoram mountain range, severing communication with the team led by renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja. Authorities said rescue teams reached the remote high-altitude location after an operation involving ground personnel and military support.
A spokesperson for Gilgit-Baltistan police said preliminary reports confirmed the recovery of four bodies. The spokesperson added that authorities were still working to verify the condition and whereabouts of the remaining members of the expedition.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the climbing team comprised 10 members, including five Nepalese climbers, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American and one climber from China. Police, however, gave a slightly different account of the team’s composition, saying two British nationals—a man and a woman—were among those missing and making no reference to an American climber.
In a statement issued late on Thursday, the Alpine Club said the entire expedition had lost contact after the avalanche struck Broad Peak, which rises 8,047 meters (26,401 feet) above sea level. The organization described the reports as deeply concerning and said rescue operations were underway.
Ayaz Shigri, general secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told AFP that rescuers equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology had identified the locations of four climbers. He cautioned that it was too early to determine precisely what had happened to the expedition.
The Alpine Club said military helicopters had joined the rescue effort, reinforcing search teams operating in the difficult terrain and extreme weather conditions characteristic of the Karakoram range. Rescue operations have been complicated by the mountain’s altitude, steep slopes and challenging environment.
China said it was working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was urgently verifying information about the climbers and expressed China’s readiness to provide assistance to Pakistan if required.
Purja, 43, is one of the world’s best-known high-altitude mountaineers. A former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and later the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Squadron, he has achieved several landmark climbing records since becoming a professional mountaineer and expedition leader.
In 2019, Purja climbed all 14 mountains higher than 8,000 meters in six months and six days, setting a record at the time. Two years later, he joined nine other Nepali climbers in completing the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
Earlier this week, Purja wrote on X that he was attempting to become the first climber to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters twice without using supplemental oxygen. In the post, he described Broad Peak as a mountain that should never be underestimated and said his objective was to demonstrate that even the most difficult challenges could be overcome.
Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, lies in Pakistan’s Karakoram range near the border with China. Regarded as one of the most technically demanding of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, it was first successfully climbed in 1957 by an Austrian expedition.
