US climber Sarah Mallory Geis was named among four dead as Pakistan’s Broad Peak avalanche triggered a desperate rescue search.
For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org
Rescue teams resumed a high-altitude search Saturday for climbers missing after an avalanche swept through an international expedition on Broad Peak, with four bodies recovered.
The remains of US climber Sarah Mallory Geis, 39, from Texas, were among those recovered from the 8,047-meter peak. The 10-person international expedition involved climbers from the United States, Pakistan, Nepal, China, Oman, and the United Kingdom and was led by renowned Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja, 43.
Sarah Mallory Geis’ body was identified Friday, along with those of Omani female climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy and Nepalese mountaineer Pur Bahadur Gurung, according to the regional government of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan province.
Purja among climbers reported missing
Purja, a former British Army and Royal Marines serviceman, gained international fame after climbing all 14 of the world’s peaks above 8,000 meters in record time. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading high-altitude mountaineers. According to rescue officials, Purja remains among those missing.
The avalanche struck Broad Peak in the Karakoram Range on Thursday as the climbers moved between Camp II and Camp III at an altitude of around 6,600 meters, according to The Kathmandu Post.
Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told reporters that the missing climbers include Purja, as well as Nepali climbers Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Nawang Thindu Sherpa. Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi and Chinese climber Wang Zhong were also listed among those missing.
High-altitude rescue operation resumes
Search and rescue operations resumed Saturday after poor weather forced authorities to suspend the mission on Friday. Additional climbers from other expeditions joined the operation as rescuers returned to the mountain.
The rescue mission involves Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters, drones and ground teams working with local climbers. A three-member civilian rescue team led by veteran Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan was flown to Broad Peak base camp before proceeding toward Camp II on foot. Nepal’s embassy in Islamabad has been coordinating with Pakistani authorities, including the Alpine Club of Pakistan, to assist in the search-and-rescue operation.
Drone footage has detected several additional bodies on the mountain, although rescuers have been unable to recover them because of difficult terrain and severe high-altitude conditions.
The bodies recovered during the initial operation were airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi, where identification and legal procedures were being carried out.
Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, is located in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region near K2, the world’s second-highest peak. At 8,047 meters, it is one of Pakistan’s five peaks exceeding 8,000 meters and attracts climbers from around the world during the summer climbing season.