Search Parties Begin to Recover Bodies Following the Broad Peak Avalanche
Two Pakistan Army helicopters have been dispatched to the scene of a massive avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan that has left ten international climbers missing, including well-known mountaineer Nirmal “Nimsdai” Purja, sources say.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan stated on Instagram that the bodies of two climbers have been recovered at the foot of the mountain. The recovered include Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, whose body was taken to Skardu via helicopter, and Nepali guide Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as “Yukta.” The report states that “arrangements for transport [of Gurung’s body] are underway.”
GPS tracking shows that Al Harthy fell more than 5,000 feet when the avalanche occurred. She was a groundbreaking mountaineer and public figure in Oman. Known for being the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest in 2019, her ascents also include K2 and Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, Manaslu and Amadablam in Nepal, and the Matterhorn in Europe. She worked as a civil servant in Oman and was climbing Broad Peak as part of a project to climb all 14 8,000-meter peaks.
‘Yukta’ Gurung was a much-loved Nepali mountain guide who was a key player in Nepal’s guiding scene. He was a certified IFMGA mountain guide, an elite status that takes years to achieve and is known as the “PhD of mountain guiding.” Abiral Rai, a board member of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, helped train Gurung. “It’s hard to find people like Yukta,” he told Outside. “He started from nothing, working as a porter, and made his way to the top very quickly. This was because of his strength and his work ethic.”
According to Rai, Gurung was from the village of Luprak, in Nepal’s central hills, which was close to the epicenter of Nepal’s deadly 2015 earthquake. He was active in the rebuilding of his community, a cause that he cared deeply about.
Gurung notched ten Everest summits, two K2 ascents, and 28 successful 8,000-meter ascents in total. He was a key team member in Jim Morrison’s 2025 ski descent of the Hornbein Couloir on the north side of Everest, which was documented in the upcoming National Geographic documentary, Everest: The Other Side. According to Rai, Gurung was seriously injured in a fall during this expedition, and spent months in the hospital recovering before returning to work in the mountains.
The BBC has reported that the tourism minister for Gilgit Baltistan has confirmed that an additional two bodies have been recovered and are in the process of identification.
According to sources at K2 Base Camp, all expeditions on the world’s second-highest peak have been cancelled for the remainder of the season, with climbers and guides returning to base camp to support rescue and recovery efforts led by the Pakistan Army. As more time passes following the avalanche, the likelihood of finding survivors diminishes greatly.
The names of all ten missing climbers have been released. In addition to Purja, Al Harthy, and Gurung, it includes Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, American climber Mallory Geis, and Nepali high-altitude workers Killi ‘Kilu’ Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, and Gyalu Sherpa.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan issued an update that Sakhi’s Garmin tracking device was located amongst the avalanche debris, along with Geis’ backpack, and a severed leg that has yet to be identified. The update also stated that rescue efforts have been called off for today given the late hour, and will resume the following morning.
The post Search Parties Begin to Recover Bodies Following the Broad Peak Avalanche appeared first on Outside Online.
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