Nirmal Purja, one of the team member of the all-Nepalese mountaineering team that became the first to scale Mount K2 in winter, gestures as the team arrives at Tribhuwan International airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Jan. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani rescuers backed by the military were searching Friday for 10 international climbers, including renowned Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who went missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains.
The climbers lost contact with the base camp Thursday and rescuers are trying to reach the area where they last communicated, said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
“The team has been out of communication since Thursday,” Haidri said, adding that army helicopters had joined the search-and-rescue operation. He said a team of experienced rescuers had reached the area where the climbers were believed to have gone missing.
Haidri said authorities were in contact with the families of the missing climbers but provided no further details. He said everyone was praying for their safe return.
