Four bodies located after 10 climbers go missing on Pakistani peak 

The bodies of four climbers have reportedly been located by Pakistani search crews after at least 10 mountaineers went missing in a suspected avalanche on Broad Peak a ⁠day earlier, officials said.

Among those missing is Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, also known as Nims Dai, who holds the record for the fastest ascent of the world’s 14 highest mountains, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said earlier.

Efforts were underway to retrieve the bodies of the four climbers despite the harsh weather on Friday, the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies reported, citing Pakistani sources. The AP said authorities did not identify whose bodies were found.

Sajid Hussain, the deputy director of the tourism department in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, told Reuters the search for the remaining six was focusing on a “remote and difficult area”.

Broad Peak is the 12th-highest mountain in the world.

The 10 climbers, led by Purja, went missing after an avalanche in northern Pakistan where they were on a climbing expedition, the ACP said late on Thursday.

“The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) has received deeply concerning reports of an avalanche that struck a team of climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m) in the Karakoram mountain range,” the club said in a statement.

ACP said the expedition comprised 10 people – including five Nepalese, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, and a climber from China identified only as Wang. Police did not mention a US citizen but said two British nationals – a man and a woman – were in the missing team.

“The entire team has reportedly been out of communication since the avalanche,” the club said.

“Every possible effort is being made to ensure that helicopter support and all available rescue resources are mobilised at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions,” it added.

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.

Purja, 43, has broken multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and tour guide in 2018, after leaving the British military.

He climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” (peaks above 8,000 metres, or 26,000 feet) in six months and six days between April and October 2019, a record at the time.

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