Rescuers find four bodies of 10 climbers missing on Broad Peak

An avalanche struck a 10-member international climbing expedition on Broad Peak in Pakistan around midday local time on Thursday, leaving the entire team without communication. Among those missing is Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former British army soldier who gained global fame by climbing the world's 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019.

Recovery efforts have been hampered by a discrepancy in casualty reports. The New York Post and Deccan Chronicle reported that rescuers located four bodies by Friday. However, the BBC reported that the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) attributed this to a miscommunication, clarifying that two bodies and a body part had been found. While the ACP’s president, Irfan Arshad Khan, stated on Instagram that as many as four bodies had been recovered, Nepal’s Tourism Department has not confirmed any deaths, continuing to list the six Nepalese members of the expedition as missing.

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The Pakistan Army dispatched two helicopters to support ground teams, though regional Chief Minister Amjad Hussain stated that adverse weather continued to hamper the effort. The search for survivors was suspended for one day due to these conditions, but the home secretary of Gilgit Baltistan told the BBC that operations were expected to continue.

Rescuers are operating in the death zone, where atmospheric oxygen is only a fraction of that at sea level. Because of the extreme altitude, the operation is being augmented by experienced climbers descending from nearby K2 and K3 peaks. Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, a Nepali lawmaker and business associate of Purja, confirmed to the BBC that members of Imagine Nepal and other Sherpas in the area are moving to assist.

This reliance on Nepali expertise is a systemic feature of the industry. Medhavi Gulati, a researcher at Panjab University, told the BBC that Sherpas are preferred over local guides because of their professional training and long history across diverse mountain environments. Many Sherpas migrate to Pakistan for its climbing season as the monsoon arrives in Nepal.

The missing team comprises guides and clients from three Nepali operators: Elite Exped, Seven Summit Treks, and Imagine Nepal. The ACP identified the individuals as:

• Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja (Nepal)
• Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta” (Nepal)
• Kili Pemba Sherpa “Kilu” (Nepal)
• Nima Sherpa (Nepal)
• Nawang Thindu Sherpa (Nepal)
• Gyalu Sherpa (Nepal)
• Sohail Sakhi (Pakistan)
• Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy (Oman)
• Mallory Geis (United States)
• Wang Zhong (China)

The human stakes involve diverse motivations. Mallory Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, had closed her Pilates studio to take what she described on social media as a giant leap of faith into the unknown, marking her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan. For Sohail Sakhi, a Pakistani guide, geographer, and high-altitude photographer, this was expected to be his final climb.

There was a brief flicker of hope when tracking data associated with Purja showed movement. Mingma Gyabu Sherpa clarified to the BBC, however, that this movement was recorded in the system yesterday, not as a result of current activity. Thaneshwar Guragain, general manager of Seven Summit Treks, told the outlet Kantipur that the chances of finding other climbers alive are slim, stating that the space for hope has become very narrow.

Purja had recently expanded his ambitions for the trip. In a post on X published on Monday, he revealed that while the original plan was to climb only G2, he decided to include Broad Peak to move closer to becoming the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without oxygen.

"Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted."

Nirmal Purja, mountaineer, via X

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Friday that the government is verifying whether any Chinese nationals are among the missing and is willing to offer help to the Pakistani side.

The immediate focus for authorities is the identification process for the recovered remains and the results of the continued search for the remaining climbers.