Islamabad, Aug 2 (dpa/GNA) – At least two bodies have been found after an avalanche, swept away at least 10 climbers on a mountain in northern Pakistan, officials said on Friday, as rescuers continue to search for the remaining mountaineers.
The avalanche on the 8,047-metre-high Broad Peak, hit an expedition led by renowned Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, said al-Pine Club of Pakistan, a body that oversees mountaineering. At least six men from Nepal, one American woman, an Omani female mountaineer, a Chinese national and a Pakistani were part of the expedition that lost contact with the base on Thursday morning, the club said.
The bodies of the Omani woman and a man from Nepal were discovered on Friday, and are being brought down by helicopter, said Ayaz Shigri, secretary general of the club.
Broad Peak is one of them tallest mountains in the world. Hundreds of climbers attempt to summit it every year along with K2, the world’s second-highest peak in the same region.
Expedition leader, Purja, is known for having climbed all peaks over 8,000 metres.
GNA