Rescuers find four bodies after avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak; 10 climbers missing

Rescuers searching for 10 climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak located four bodies on Friday and were continuing to search for the other six, according to officials.

Renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja is among those missing in northern Pakistan where he was leading a climbing expedition, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said.

According to the Alpine Club, the expedition included five Nepali climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and another foreign climber.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said they were “urgently working to verify and understand the situation” and said Beijing was willing to provide assistance to Pakistan.

Efforts were underway to retrieve the bodies of the four climbers despite the harsh weather. Officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, did not immediately identify whose bodies were found.

The climbers lost contact with their base camp after the avalanche struck while they were attempting to scale the mountain, said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

“The team has been out of communication since Thursday,” said Haidri, adding that army helicopters were deployed to assist aerially in the search and rescue operations.

Purja, a Nepal-born former soldier in the British army widely known as Nims Dai, climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary, “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.” His record was surpassed in 2023.

In 2021, Purja completed the first winter ascent of K2 along with a team of nine other Nepalese climbers.

Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan, announced late last month that the expedition team was on its way to the small town of Askole and wished them a safe journey climbing Broad Peak.

The company said this was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-metre peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be Sakhi’s final one.

Sakhi is a guide for the company, as well as a geographer and high-altitude photographer, and has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to Moving Mountains’ website. Geis, 39, lives in San Antonio and is an avid traveller who loves being outdoors, according to her Instagram page.

She announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her Pilates studio to take “a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved.”

Broad Peak, at 8,047 metres, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. It lies in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, attracting climbers from around the globe.

Accidents are common during climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches and rapidly changing weather, and rescue missions are often difficult due to the complex terrain surrounding the peaks.