Bodies of 4 climbers found after avalanche

ISLAMABAD — The remains of renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja and three other climbers have been found by a ground team on Broad Peak, one of the world's highest mountains, where a 10-member international expedition was swept away by an avalanche, officials said Sunday.

The avalanche struck the expedition on Thursday as the team was climbing above Camp 2 on Broad Peak, the world's 12th-highest mountain, in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The group included climbers and guides from several countries.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan identified the recovered climbers as Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa. The club praised military and civilian rescuers and volunteers involved in the recovery effort.

Search efforts have repeatedly been hampered by heavy snowfall, strong winds and poor visibility in the high-altitude terrain. On Friday, rescuers located four other bodies but were able to recover only three — Omani Nathira Ahmed, US climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese Bahadur Gurung — because harsh weather grounded search-and-rescue helicopters.

Military-backed rescue teams resumed the search Sunday for the two remaining climbers.

On Saturday, Purja's expedition company said the world had lost one of mountaineering greats. The company described him as "a leader who inspired millions through his courage, humility and unwavering belief that human potential is far greater than we often imagine".

Alpine Club of Pakistan President Irfan Arshad Khan said the tragedy was "an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity". He paid tributes to military and civilian rescuers and Sherpas who took part in the search mission.

The expedition was led by Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier who served for 16 years. He was widely known as Nims Dai.

In 2016, he drew international attention after rescuing a stranded climber from the "death zone" on Mount Qomolangma.

Purja was awarded an MBE by the late Queen in 2018 for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering, and also held 18 Guinness World Records for his mountaineering feats.

He 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. He later became part of the first all-Nepali team to complete a winter ascent of K2, one of the most difficult challenges in mountaineering.

Remembering Others

Among the other victims was Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, who worked with Moving Mountains, a Pakistan-based adventure travel company. Sakhi was also a geographer and high-altitude photographer who had scaled some of the world's major peaks, according to the company's website. His body remained missing on Sunday.

Tributes also poured in from the families of other victims. A statement from Geis' family said, "Mallory was a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends. She will be profoundly missed."

Pakistan's Karakoram range is home to five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 meters, attracting climbers from around the world. Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA