climbers

July 31 (UPI) — Rescue crews searching for 10 missing mountaineers following an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak mountain found four bodies, officials said Friday.

The expedition was led by renowned mountaineer Nirmal Pruja and included American climber and wellness entrepreneur Mallory Geis.

Maj. Gen. Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement posted on Instagram on Friday that the bodies had been located.

“Search-and-rescue operations remain ongoing, and we urge the public to await verified updates before drawing conclusions,” the club said in a separate statement.

“The Alpine Club of Pakistan extends its continued thoughts to the climbers and their families during this difficult time.”

The club did not say whether the bodies had been recovered.

The avalanche occurred midday Thursday on Broad Peak, which at 26,401 feet is of the world’s 12th-highest mountain, in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountain range.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement that one of its expeditions had gone missing. It was last in communication with the group before the avalanche occurred, it said.

The 10 expeditions members were identified as Purja, Geis, Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Wang Zhong of China, Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy of Oman and Nepalese mountaineers Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa.

Mountaineer Nirmal Purja among those feared missing after avalanche hit Broad Peak, Pakistan alpine club says.

Ten climbers, led by renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, are feared missing after an avalanche in northern Pakistan where they were on a climbing expedition, the country’s alpine club said.

“The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) has received deeply concerning reports of an avalanche that struck a team of climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m) in the Karakoram mountain range,” the club said late on Thursday, adding that the team was led by Purja and could not be reached since the incident.

Broad Peak is the 12th-highest mountain in the world.

The ACP said the expedition comprises 10 people, including five from Nepal, one from Pakistan, one from Oman, one from China, one from the United States, and another foreign climber whose nationality it did not disclose.

“The entire team has reportedly been out of communication since the avalanche,” the club said.

“Every possible effort is being made to ensure that helicopter support and all available rescue resources are mobilised at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions,” it added.

Purja, 43, also known as Nims Dai, has broken multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and tour guide in 2018, after leaving the British military.

He climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” (peaks above 8,000 metres, or 26,000 feet) in six months and six days between April and October 2019, a record at the time.

In 2021, Purja completed the first winter ascent of K2 as part of a team of nine other Nepalese climbers.