The body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi has been recovered from Broad Peak. Local volunteers from Shigar found Sakhi’s remains at 5,600m near Camp 1, according to Dawn.
Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Bashir, and Abuzar spotted the body while searching on their own initiative, then helped carry it down to Base Camp. The Alpine Club of Pakistan has confirmed the identification. Weather permitting, the body will shortly be flown out to Skardu by Pakistan Army helicopter.
Sakhi was one of the 10 climbers caught in the avalanche on July 30 as the group moved between Camp 2 and Camp 3. Four commercial teams had stayed on for a shared summit push after earlier climbers had left due to heavy snow and rising avalanche danger.
Their trackers placed them around 6,600m shortly before a violent avalanche swept the entire party hundreds of meters — in places, more than 1,500 vertical meters — down a west-facing gully. Rescue efforts were slow to get underway, and by the time teams reached the site the next day, it was clear there were no survivors.
Over the following days, seven bodies were brought down, including Nirmal Purja’s. Sakhi’s backpack and tracker had already been found, but his body remained missing until the Shigar volunteers located it this week.
The remains of two climbers, American Sarah Mallory Geis and Nepali guide Nawang Thindu Sherpa, are still not recovered. Only Geis’s disembodied leg was found and identified, while Nawang’s body was spotted in dangerous terrain. Continued bad weather and the risk of further avalanches have made any further recovery work impossible for now.
Frame of a video of the avalanche of Broad Peak, circled in red. Photo: Gorskie Mapy
