Four Climbers Located During Difficult Ground Operation
Rescue teams have recovered the body of celebrated Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and three other climbers from Broad Peak in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The bodies were located on Sunday, three days after an avalanche struck a 10-member international expedition.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the ground team reached Purja at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres.
Three additional bodies were also found near the same area.
The other recovered climbers were identified as Chinese mountaineer Wang Zhong and Nepalese climbers Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa.
Rescuers began bringing the four bodies towards Camp 1 and lower sections of the mountain.
The operation remained extremely difficult because of steep slopes, unstable snow and the continuing danger of further avalanches.
The Alpine Club said its initial updates were based on reports received from teams operating on the mountain. It urged the public to avoid sharing unverified information while recovery efforts continued.
An eight-member ground team of Pakistani and Nepalese climbers had reached Camp 1 before 9am on Sunday.
The rescuers then moved towards the advanced base camp and the avalanche zone.
Helicopters could not operate effectively because of poor visibility and dangerous weather conditions.
The ground team was therefore required to approach the bodies through difficult high-altitude terrain.
The Alpine Club said another body had been sighted at a significantly higher elevation.
However, the location was considered too dangerous for an immediate recovery attempt.
Eight Bodies Recovered Following Deadly Avalanche
The avalanche struck the expedition on Thursday while the climbers were ascending Broad Peak.
The group reportedly lost contact after being swept hundreds of metres down the mountainside.
Purja’s expedition company, Elite Exped, announced on Saturday that all 10 members of the team had died.
The international expedition included six Nepalese climbers and one mountaineer each from Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China.
Before Sunday’s operation, the bodies of four climbers had already been recovered or located.
Omani mountaineer Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy and Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung were recovered on Friday.
Remains believed to be those of American climber Sarah Mallory Geis were also brought down for formal identification.
The body of Nepalese climber Gyalu Sherpa was recovered on Saturday.
Sunday’s operation brought the number of located or recovered climbers to eight.
Search and recovery work continued for the remaining expedition members, including Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi.
Aerial reconnaissance had earlier identified several bodies on the mountain.
However, reaching them required specialist teams capable of operating in an area with limited oxygen, unstable ice and rapidly changing weather.
Army aviation helicopters supported the earlier stages of the operation whenever weather conditions allowed.
Local high-altitude porters and civilian rescuers also played a major role in locating and recovering the climbers.
The Alpine Club praised the rescue teams for continuing the mission despite serious risks to their own lives.
Mountaineering World Mourns Record-Breaking Climber
Purja, widely known as Nims Dai, was one of the world’s most recognised high-altitude mountaineers.
He became internationally famous in 2019 after climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in six months and six days.
His extraordinary journey was later featured in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.
Purja also participated in the first successful winter ascent of K2 in January 2021.
Before becoming a professional mountaineer, he served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and later joined the Special Boat Service.
The 43-year-old climber returned to Broad Peak as part of another ambitious high-altitude mission.
Elite Exped said he was attempting to become the first person to climb all 14 of the world’s highest mountains twice without supplementary oxygen.
Broad Peak was familiar territory for Purja. He had climbed it during his record-breaking 2019 campaign.
The Alpine Club described him as a man who made the impossible possible.
It said his achievements brought greater international recognition to Nepal’s climbing community and inspired mountaineers around the world.
British climber Kenton Cool also remembered Purja as a charismatic figure who transformed high-altitude expedition guiding.
Tributes continued to emerge from climbers, adventure organisations and supporters across the world.
Broad Peak rises approximately 8,051 metres in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountain range.
It is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is considered a demanding climb because of its extreme altitude, exposed slopes and unpredictable weather.
The mountain was first successfully climbed by an Austrian expedition in 1957.
The latest disaster is among the deadliest recent climbing accidents on Pakistan’s highest peaks.
Recovery teams remained on the mountain as authorities worked to bring the located bodies down and account for every member of the expedition.
