Pakistan avalanche: 4 climbers' bodies recovered

Search teams recovered four bodies near the site of an avalanche on Broad Peak in northern Pakistan that cut off contact with a 10-person climbing expedition, Gilgit-Baltistan police said Friday.

The regional police spokesperson said preliminary reports showed four bodies had so far been recovered and that the condition of the remaining climbers was still being verified. The avalanche struck on Thursday in the Karakoram mountain range.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the expedition was led by British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and included five Nepalese climbers, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American and a climber from China. Police did not mention an American and said two British nationals, a man and a woman, were among the missing team.

Ayaz Shigri, the Alpine Club's general secretary, said rescuers had traced the locations of four climbers using GPS, but added that it was too early to say exactly what had happened. The club said military helicopters were reinforcing ground teams in the high-altitude search.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing was urgently working to verify and understand the situation and was willing to provide assistance to Pakistan.

Purja, 43, is known for climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in six months and six days in 2019, then a record. Broad Peak is 8,047 metres high and is regarded as one of the more technical 8,000-metre climbs.