ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani rescuers backed by the military were searching Friday for 10 international climbers, including renowned Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who went missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains.
The climbers lost contact with the base camp Thursday and rescuers are trying to reach the area where they last communicated, said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
“The team has been out of communication since Thursday,” Haidri said, adding that army helicopters had joined the search-and-rescue operation. He said a team of experienced rescuers had reached the area where the climbers were believed to have gone missing.
Haidri said authorities were in contact with the families of the missing climbers but provided no further details. He said everyone was praying for their safe return.
According to the Alpine Club, the expedition included five Nepali climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and another foreign climber.
Purja, a former soldier in the British army widely known as Nims Dai, climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary, “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.” His record was surpassed in 2023.
Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan, announced late last month that the expedition team was on its way to the small town of Askole and wished them a safe journey climbing Broad Peak. The company said this was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be Sakhi’s final one.
Sakhi is a guide for the company, as well as a geographer and high-altitude photographer, and has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to Moving Mountains’ website.
Geis, 39, lives in San Antonio and is an avid traveler who loves being outdoors, according to her Instagram page. She announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her Pilates studio to take “a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved.”
Broad Peak, at 8,047 meters (26,401 feet), is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. It lies in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, attracting climbers from around the globe.
“The Alpine Club of Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with all concerned stakeholders,” the club said in a statement, adding that it stands in solidarity with the climbers’ families and the international mountaineering community.
Accidents are common during climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches and rapidly changing weather.
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Associated Press journalist Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
