The search for missing mountaineers continues in Gilgit-Baltistan after an avalanche struck on Broad Peak, leaving two bodies found and several others still trapped. The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) announced that a 10-member team, including six Nepalese climbers, had gone missing on the mountain earlier this week.
The ACP said that the team consisted of Purja, Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa from Nepal; Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman; Sakhi from Pakistan; Wang Zhong from China; and Mallory Geis from the United States. The remaining members of the team were identified as Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Sohail Sakhi.
The search operation was launched after an avalanche struck on Broad Peak around midday on Thursday. Two bodies had been found by a local rescue team, but the identities of those who were missing have not yet been confirmed.
Pakistan Army Aviation Rescue Helicopters, carrying rescue personnel and specialized equipment, have been dispatched to support the ongoing search and rescue operation. The ACP President Major General Irfan Arshad said that two helicopters had been deployed to assist in the search efforts.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with all relevant stakeholders while expressing solidarity with the climbers’ families and the international mountaineering community. “Every possible effort is being made to ensure that helicopter support and all available rescue resources are mobilized at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions,” it added.
The ACP’s General Secretary Ayaz Shigri said that several expedition teams had begun their summit push before the incident. GPS locations received from some of the missing climbers indicated that the avalanche had swept the group about 1,000 meters downhill, leaving them trapped.
Helicopter-assisted rescue operations were expected to begin on Friday morning, with fears that local high-altitude porters might have been affected by the avalanche. “We pray for the safety of all the climbers,” said Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain Advocate.
The search for missing mountaineers continues in Gilgit-Baltistan after an avalanche struck on Broad Peak, leaving two bodies found and several others still trapped.
Based on reporting from Dawn.
