Search teams in Pakistan have recovered the bodies of four more climbers, including renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who were killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak. This brings the total number of bodies recovered to seven, according to officials.
The bodies were found on Wednesday with the support of military helicopters, nearly a week after an avalanche swept away a 10-member international expedition. The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the operation was one of the most technically demanding recovery missions ever carried out on the mountain.
The bodies of Purja, Chinese climber Zhong Wang, and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa were brought to Broad Peak base camp. Three other bodies had been recovered on August 1.
The bodies will be transported to a military hospital in Skardu when weather conditions permit. In Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, family members and friends of the climbers gathered for a candlelight vigil, where Buddhist monks chanted prayers and a moment of silence was observed.
The climbers, who came from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States, were caught in the avalanche last Thursday in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The Alpine Club has described the incident as one of the country's deadliest mountaineering disasters.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed condolences to the families, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy and that Pakistan remained committed to the ongoing operation in coordination with the embassies of Nepal, Oman, Britain and the United States.
Mountaineering accidents are common in northern Pakistan due to avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather. A Chinese climber died last year after being struck by falling rocks while descending K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
Bodies of foreign climbers who die in Pakistan are typically recovered only at the request of their families and governments. If families decline recovery efforts, the remains are usually left where the climbers died.
The Alpine Club thanked the Pakistani and Nepali recovery teams, including Pakistani mountaineers Sirbaz Khan, Abid Beg and Sherzad, and Nepali climbers Dipen Gurung and Pemba Chhewang Sherpa.