Body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi recovered from Broad Peak
Sakhi was among 10 climbers killed in the July 30 avalanche on Pakistan’s 8,047-metre peak
Body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi recovered from Broad Peak
Sakhi was among 10 climbers killed in the July 30 avalanche on Pakistan’s 8,047-metre peak
The body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, who had been missing since an avalanche struck Broad Peak on July 30, has been recovered, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said Thursday.
A team of local volunteers from Shigar, who had been searching the area on their own initiative, found unidentified remains that were later confirmed as those of Sakhi, the club said.
The body was first spotted by Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Bashir and Abuzar, all from Tissar in Shigar. They alerted others in the area before carrying the remains, together with their leader and cook Zaman and several other volunteers, from below Camp 1 to Base Camp.
“Heli is on the way to pick the body,” Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Club told Everest Chronicle.
The avalanche swept through an international expedition on Broad Peak, an 8,047-metre mountain in Pakistan's Karakoram range, killing all 10 members of the team.
Among those killed was renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja ‘Nimsdai’. Nepali climbers Pur Bahadur Gurung ‘Yukta’, and Nima Sherpa were members of Nimsdai's Elite Exped team.
Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa, both with Seven Summit Treks, were guiding Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, while Kili Pemba Sherpa ‘Kilu’, of Imagine Nepal was guiding Chinese climber Wang Zhong.
The avalanche struck climbers heading above Camp 2 on the morning of July 30. Base camp was alerted nearly 11 hours later, as the climbers could not be contacted after the massive avalanche.
Steep terrain, unstable snow and poor weather made rescue and recovery effort difficult.
Seven bodies have been brought down from the mountain, while Nawang's body is still in a difficult location above 6,000 metres where rescuers say recovery would be too dangerous this season.
Sakhi's body was not visible in earlier drone searches. A limb believed to belong to American climber Mallory Geis was recovered on the first day of the search, but the rest of her remains have not been found.
With Sakhi's body recovered, the remains of eight of the 10 climbers have now been recovered. Nawang and Geis remain unaccounted for, although Nawang's body has been located on the mountain.
