SKARDU: The bodies of five international climbers, including renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, were airlifted to Skardu by a Pakistan Army helicopter on Thursday following one of the most challenging recovery operations ever conducted on Broad Peak.
The bodies of five foreign #climbers who died in the avalanche of the 8047-meter-high #BroadPeak were brought to Skardu, where political leaders, civil and military authorities, and local climbers formally received the bodies with respect at the Aviation Base #skardu pic.twitter.com/WZDJ2WuJFr
— nisar abbas (@AbbasNisarabbas) August 6, 2026
Rescue teams are continuing their desperate search for the two remaining climbers still unaccounted for after the July 30 avalanche.
The disaster struck a 10-member international expedition led by the 43-year-old Purja as the team ascended from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain at 8,051 metres. The avalanche claimed the lives of all 10 climbers from Nepal, the United Kingdom, China, the United States, Oman, and Pakistan, sending shockwaves through the global mountaineering community.
bodies of nirmal “nims” purja, wang zhong, nima sherpa & kili pemba sherpa airlifted from broad peak base camp to skardu after challenging operation
with extreme altitude.#broadpeak #karakoram #breaking #exclusive
courtesy @GashabrumII pic.twitter.com/s2St64ELM0— Hasnain Qaisrani (@QaisraniHasnain) August 6, 2026
Bodies recovered after demanding operation
The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) confirmed that the bodies of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, and Killi Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa had been transported by helicopter to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Skardu following what officials described as “one of the most technically demanding recovery operations on Broad Peak.”
Read Also: Pakistan Team Reaches Broad Peak Base Camp with Body of Mountaineer Nirmal Purja
The ACP stated that the bodies would be transferred to Islamabad after the completion of required formalities. The club extended its “deepest condolences to the families of the deceased” and confirmed that Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi and climber Mallory Geis remain missing, while the body of Nawang Thindu Sherpa has not yet been recovered.
The bodies of Nirmal Purja, Zhong Wang of China, Nima Sherpa, and Kilu Sherpa transported from Broad Peak Base Camp to Skardu by Pakistan Army helicopters.The bodies were recovered during the search operation and arrived safely at the base camp on Wednesday.#nimsdai #broadpeak pic.twitter.com/Hz0IdiEr1n
— Mumtaz Shigri (@iamMumtazShigri) August 6, 2026
Search continues for missing climbers
The latest recovery brings the number of bodies retrieved from the avalanche site to eight, leaving two climbers still unaccounted for as search efforts continue despite challenging weather conditions. Rescue teams comprising the Pakistan Army, local rescuers, and other relevant authorities remain engaged in the operation.
On Wednesday, the ACP had announced that the bodies of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, and Kilu Sherpa had been successfully recovered after what it described as an “exceptionally challenging and technically demanding recovery operation” and transported to the mountain’s base camp.
Read Also: Pakistan Alpine Club Says Rescuers Recover Nepalese Climber Nirmal Purja’s Body
The remains of three other members of the expedition, an American woman, an Omani woman, and a Nepali climber, had already been airlifted from the mountain to Skardu earlier this week.
Five more bodies of international climbers including Nirmal Purja (Nimsdai) were airlifted to Skardu by Pakistan Army helicopters on Thursday, eight days after an avalanche struck Broad Peak, as search and rescue operations continue in Karakoram.#Broadpeak #Nimsdai #NirmalPura pic.twitter.com/cUuuGNpzkW
— Tanveer Abbas (@tanveer_abbas1) August 6, 2026
Global mountaineering community in mourning
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the global mountaineering community. The president of Nepal’s National Mountain Guide Association, Tul Singh Gurung, expressed the collective grief, stating that the climbing world had “lost a generation of accomplished mountaineers.”
براڈ پیک پر برفانی تودے کے بعد جاری سرچ اینڈ ریسکیو آپریشن کے 8 روز بعد مزید پانچ بین الاقوامی کوہ پیماؤں کی لاشیں پاک فوج کے ہیلی کاپٹر کے ذریعے سکردو منتقل کر دی گئیں۔
سکردو ایوی ایشن پر سول و عسکری افسران، عمائدین شہر، متعلقہ اداروں کے نمائندوں اور کوہ پیماؤں کی بڑی تعداد نے… pic.twitter.com/E1Pj4Qyupp— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) August 6, 2026
Broad Peak, located in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, is widely regarded as one of the most technically demanding of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks. First summited in 1957 by an Austrian expedition, the mountain has claimed numerous lives over the decades, but the loss of an entire expedition team of this caliber has left the mountaineering fraternity reeling.
