This is no longer a rescue operation, but a recovery mission. The nine male climbers and one female climber who were struck by a massive avalanche on Thursday during an attempt to summit the eight-thousander Broad Peak are no longer alive. As sad as it is, there is no longer any reasonable doubt about this.
Four additional bodies have been recovered and are currently being brought down from the mountain, according to a statement from the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP). These are the bodies of the three Nepalese climbers Nirmal Purja, Kili Pemba Sherpa, and Nima Sherpa, as well as the Chinese climber Wang Zhong. They were declared dead yesterday.
Pakistani-Nepalese Rescue Operation
A ten-member rescue team consisting of experienced mountaineers from Pakistan and Nepal was deployed today in the avalanche zone. The difficult and dangerous operation was led by two Pakistanis, Sirbaz Khan and Sherzad Karim, the ACP announced on Saturday. Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the expedition operator Imagine Nepal, was also part of the team. They were supported by rescue helicopters.
The body of Gyalu Sherpa, a Nepalese climber, had already been brought down from the avalanche zone yesterday evening. On Friday, rescuers at the foot of Broad Peak had recovered the bodies of Nadhira Al Harthy from Oman and Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung from Nepal, as well as the remains of Mallory Weis from the United States.
Dangerous conditions in the upper part of the avalanche Zone
The two avalanche victims who have not yet been recovered are Nawang Thindu Sherpa from Nepal and Sohail Sakhi from Pakistan. “Rescuers have also confirmed the presence of one additional body at a significantly higher elevation,” the ACP announced today.
“Due to the extremely hazardous terrain and prevailing conditions, it is unlikely that a recovery attempt will be made at this stage.”
