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ISLAMABAD – Local volunteers have successfully recovered the body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, who was among ten mountaineers tragically killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak nearly two weeks ago, officials confirmed Thursday.
Sakhi had been missing since July 30, when an international expedition team, led by acclaimed climber Nirmal Purja, lost contact with their base camp. Authorities later confirmed that all ten members of the team perished in what has become one of Pakistan’s deadliest recent mountaineering disasters. So far, search efforts have retrieved eight bodies, including Sakhi’s.
The body was discovered by volunteers from the region and subsequently transported to base camp with the assistance of additional rescuers. The Alpine Club of Pakistan stated that, weather permitting, the body would be airlifted by helicopter to a regional air base.
This recovery follows a solemn candlelight vigil held in Islamabad two days prior, where mountaineers, diplomats, and members of civil society gathered to pay tribute to the lost climbers.
The ill-fated expedition comprised climbers from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain, and the United States. Broad Peak, towering at 8,051 meters (26,414 feet) in the Karakoram mountain range, is the world’s 12th-highest peak and lies close to K2, the second highest mountain globally.
Mountaineering in northern Pakistan is known for its risks, as the region hosts some of the tallest and most challenging mountains in the world.