ISLAMABAD (AP) — Teams in Pakistan searched on foot for the remains of 10 climbers killed in an avalanche on the world’s 12th-highest mountain as poor weather kept helicopters out of the air Tuesday, authorities said. Helicopters were on standby but unable to fly by noon for the ongoing search and recovery operation on Broad Peak, the regional government said in a statement Tuesday.The climbers from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States were swept away by the avalanche Thursday in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which the Alpine Club of Pakistan called one of the country’s deadliest mountaineering disasters.Ground teams located the remains of eight climbers and at least three bodies were brought down the mountain on Saturday, officials said.Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai, was among the climbers killed in the avalanche while attempting to scale the peak. His expedition company said Saturday that the world had lost one of mountaineering’s greats.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed condolences to the families of those killed, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy.“My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families and to the governments and people of China, Nepal, Oman, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Dar said in a post on X.
