Six hours after our last update about the avalanche on Broad Peak that has left 10 climbers missing, a few follow-up details have been released. The frantic search for bodies and possible survivors has continued, both on foot and from helicopters, throughout Pakistan’s afternoon. A drone flying over the area spotted more bodies, but identification was impossible. Of the 10 climbers hit by yesterday’s avalanche, only two have been recovered and identified.
Ground searchers are working from Camp 1, and reinforcements are expected shortly, as most K2 teams have aborted their summit pushes in order to help on neighboring Broad Peak.
The GPS trackers of several missing climbers show their approximate location at around 5,800m. Shirbaz Khan, who flew to Base Camp earlier today, and three other climbers from Shimshal have gone up to Camp 1 and will search from there, Ali Saltoro of Alpine Adventure Guides told ExplorersWeb.
Sohail Sakhi. Photo: Sohail Sakhi
The still-missing climbers are:
- famous UK-Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja
- Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan and his client, Mallory Geis of the U.S. According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, searchers have found Sakhi’s backpack and broken Garmin.
- Wang Zhong of China
- Kili Pemba Sherpa, nicknamed Kilu (Mingma G of Imagine Nepal’s right-hand man and a winter K2 summiter)
- Nima Sherpa
- Nawang Thindu Sherpa
- Gyalu Sherp
A previous report of four bodies found at the base of Broad Peak was a misunderstanding. So far, only the bodies of Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman and Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as Yukta, of Nepal have been retrieved.
Ali Saltoro shared the following video of an avalanche on Broad Peak with ExplorersWeb. It is not confirmed if this is the same avalanche that hit the climbers below Camp 3 yesterday morning.
More help on the way
Mingma David Sherpa, Purja’s partner at EliteExped, is flying to Pakistan to join the search alongside two other Nepalese climbers, according to 14mount8000.
Benny Lieber of the U.S., currently guiding on K2, confirmed that he is aborting his summit push, as are almost everyone else on K2. Climbers were pushing for the summit, and the rope-fixing team reached Camp 3 yesterday. Lieber and others on K2 climbers will help in the search, according to Lieber’s friends in the U.S. and the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is following the situation closely, and the Nepalese embassy in Islamabad is also coordinating with the Pakistani rescuers, the Tourism Times reported.
