Local porters recover missing climber Sohail Sakhi’s body from Broad Peak

SHIGAR: The body of mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, who went missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in Gilgit-Baltistan last month, has been recovered by local porters, bringing the number of missing climbers from the disaster down to one.

Three porters from Shigar — Abuzar Ali, Muhammad Bashir and Muhammad Nadeem — located and retrieved Sakhi’s body on their own after spending several hours working through the snow and debris without modern rescue equipment.

The porters recovered the body from the avalanche site and moved it to a safe location, according to local sources.

Sakhi was among 10 mountaineers who went missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, on July 30.

The 8,051-metre peak is located in the Karakoram range of Gilgit-Baltistan and is regarded as one of Pakistan’s most technically challenging mountains.

Following the avalanche, search and rescue teams launched an operation to locate the missing climbers. The bodies of eight mountaineers were subsequently found, while Sakhi and a Nepali climber remained missing.

The recovery of Sakhi’s body means one Nepali mountaineer is now the only climber from the group who remains unaccounted for. The search for the missing climber is continuing.

Alpine Club of Pakistan spokesperson Naila Kiani also confirmed the recovery of his body in a social media post.

The disaster also claimed the life of renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, one of the world’s best-known high-altitude climbers. Purja, who was 43, had been among the climbers caught in the avalanche while on an expedition on Broad Peak.

Elite Exped, the company organising the expedition, had earlier confirmed Purja’s death, expressing “profound sadness and immense heartbreak” over the loss of the celebrated mountaineer and other members of the expedition.

Purja rose to international prominence after completing the ascent of all 14 of the world’s mountains higher than 8,000 metres in just six months in 2019 — a record-breaking feat that brought him global recognition. His achievement was later chronicled in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible”.

Before pursuing mountaineering full-time, Purja served in the British military, including with the Gurkhas and special forces.

Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah had expressed shock over the deaths, saying the climbers’ physical journeys had ended but their courage, dedication and contributions would continue to inspire others.

The July 30 avalanche struck around midday, sweeping away 10 mountaineers.

Six of those reported missing were Nepali nationals, while the others were from Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China.

The recovery operation has involved difficult terrain and hazardous conditions at high altitude, making the retrieval of bodies particularly challenging. In several cases, rescuers have had to work in areas where the avalanche debris remains difficult to access.

The bodies of foreign climbers recovered during the operation were subsequently transported from Skardu to Islamabad.

An Airblue flight, PA 703, carrying the remains of foreign mountaineers killed in the Broad Peak avalanche arrived at Islamabad International Airport on Friday. The bodies were later shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where they were placed in the hospital’s mortuary.

Five of the foreign climbers whose bodies had earlier been flown from Skardu to Islamabad were identified as Nepali mountaineers Nima Sherpa, Nirmal Purja, Gelu (Gyallu) Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa, along with Chinese climber Wang Zhong.

Sources said that efforts now remain focused on locating the last missing Nepali climber.