Avalanche sweeps climbing team, four bodies recovered, six missing

In Pakistan, an avalanche has struck an expedition on Broad Peak located in Karakoram range near K2 at an altitude of around 7 thousand metres, sweeping away a 10-member climbing team. Rescuers have recovered four bodies and continued search operations despite adverse weather. Nepal’s veteran mountaineer Nirmal Purja remained among six missing climbers. Broad Peak standing at 8 thousand 51 metres is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is considered one of the most challenging peaks to climb. The climbers include- six from Nepal, one from Pakistan, one from Oman, one American and one Chinese.

In tragic news that has shaken the world today...

- Ten mountaineers, including the renowned Nirmal Purja, director of the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks," have gone missing following a powerful avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/XtN6akM1f1

— صحيفةكلباء الإخبارية (@kalbaae) August 1, 2026

The Gilgit-Baltistan regional government said on Friday evening that the bodies of Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani Nadhira Al Harthy, and Mallory Geis from the United States were now secured in local facilities. Sajid Hussain, the deputy director of the tourism department in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, told Reuters the search for the remaining six was focusing on a “remote and difficult area”.