Three Mountaineers Dead, Several Missing After Avalanche Strikes Pakistan’s Broad Peak
American climber Sarah Mallory Geis and elite mountaineer Nirmal Purja among those affected by Karakoram avalanche.
A fatal avalanche on Broad Peak in northern Pakistan’s Karakoram range has left at least three mountaineers dead and several others missing, triggering an intensive emergency search operation across the world’s twelfth-highest summit.
Pakistani rescue personnel retrieved the remains of three climbers on Friday following the snowslide, which struck an international group of at least ten people on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Sarah Mallory Geis, an American climber; Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy of Oman; and Pur Bahadur Gurung of Nepal.
Broad Peak, which towers at 26,414 feet (8,051 meters) above sea level in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, is one of the world’s fourteen eight-thousanders, where atmospheric conditions and high altitude create hazardous climbing environments during Karakoram expeditions.
Search operations are continuing for the remaining missing members of the party, who hail from Nepal, Pakistan, China, and the United Kingdom. Among those unaccounted for is 43-year-old British-Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who set a record for the fastest ascent of the world’s 14 highest mountains and was featured in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.
Aerial reconnaissance and drone footage over the avalanche area revealed signs of additional bodies buried in the snow, according to local officials. However, severe weather conditions forced authorities to temporarily suspend ground and air efforts on Friday night.
“We hope to continue our operations, both aerial search and the ground rescue, till the time we find the survivors or the dead bodies,” said Irfan Arshad, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, emphasizing the scale of the emergency response.
The location of the disaster presents extraordinary logistical challenges for recovery workers. Sajid Hussain, deputy director of the tourism department in Gilgit-Baltistan, characterized the search zone as extremely remote and difficult to access.
Efforts remain underway to retrieve the bodies and transport them to base camp. Gilgit-Baltistan police confirmed that high-altitude porters and specialized rescue teams are operating under severe weather conditions and extremely rugged terrain with the utmost caution.
