Rescuers found four bodies while searching for 10 climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. Army helicopters joined the effort, but poor weather continued to obstruct access and officials had not identified the recovered climbers. Officials said four bodies had been located and recovery efforts were underway despite harsh weather.
Six members of the expedition remained missing at the latest confirmed update. The team lost contact with base camp after an avalanche struck while the climbers attempted an ascent. Expedition leader Nirmal Purja previously climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in 189 days.
Pakistan’s military supplied helicopters to the search and rescue operation. The expedition included climbers from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China. Avalanches and rapidly changing weather repeatedly cause fatal accidents during climbing seasons in northern Pakistan.
Broad Peak is 8,047 meters high, the world’s 12th-highest mountain and one of five peaks above 8,000 meters in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. High altitude, wind and avalanche exposure constrain both helicopter use and ground recovery teams.
The evidentiary boundary at publication is specific: The bodies had not been publicly identified, the condition of the other climbers was unknown and changing weather could alter the search timeline. The current account therefore distinguishes completed events from announced, proposed or still-contested steps. Statements by governments, companies, litigants and advocacy organizations establish what those parties said; they are not treated as independent proof of every underlying assertion. Numerical values describe the source period and category identified in the reporting and may be revised by the responsible institution.
The next public records expected to update this account are official identification of the recovered climbers and weather windows and contact or location data for the six still missing. Until those records appear, the dates, totals, procedural posture and attributed descriptions above are the latest checked account for the July 31 edition. A later filing, official release, verified field report or corrected dataset could change a total or timetable without erasing the documented sequence at this cutoff.