Broad Peak avalanche: Four bodies found as search for six climbers goes on

Rescuers on Pakistan's Broad Peak have found four bodies after an avalanche hit a climbing team. The search for six others continues in severe weather as families await identification and updates.Image used for representational purposes onlyRescuers searching for 10 climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak have found four bodies and are continuing the search for the other six, officials said on Friday. Efforts were under way to retrieve the bodies despite harsh weather conditions.Senior government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the bodies had not yet been identified. Army helicopters have joined the search-and-rescue operation, and authorities are in touch with the families of the missing climbers."The team has been out of communication since Thursday," said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. According to the club, the expedition included five Nepali climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and another foreign climber.The expedition was led by renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, the Nepal-born former British army soldier widely known as Nims Dai. 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". His record was surpassed in 2023. Pakistan-based travel company Moving Mountains had announced late last month that the team was on its way to the town of Askole and wished them a safe climb on Broad Peak. The company said this was Geis' first attempt at an 8,000-metre peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be Sakhi's final one. Sakhi, a guide for the company, is also a geographer and high-altitude photographer, and has climbed some of the world's major peaks, according to the company's website.Geis, 39, lives in San Antonio and is an avid traveller who enjoys the outdoors, according to her Instagram page. Earlier this year, she posted on social media that she was shutting her Pilates studio to take "a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved." Broad Peak, which rises to 8,047 metres, is the world's 12th-highest mountain. It is in Pakistan's Karakoram range, home to five of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000 metres. Climbing accidents are common in northern Pakistan because of avalanches and rapidly changing weather, and the search on Broad Peak continued on Friday after four bodies were found.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 31, 2026 13:00 IST