GILGIT: The body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, who was among the 10-person expedition that went missing after the deadly Broad Peak avalanche, was recovered and shifted to the mountain’s base camp nearly two weeks after the tragedy, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said on Thursday.
The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by world-renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains. Mr Purja’s company later confirmed there were no survivors.
The bodies of seven climbers were found. However, the search for Mr Sakhi, American climber Sarah Mallory Geis, and Nepal’s Nawang Thindu Sherpa was suspended last week due to a risk of fresh avalanches.
On Thursday, ACP member Naila Kiani said that Mr Sakhi’s body had been found. According to Ms Kiani, a team of local volunteers from Shigar, searching the area on their own initiative, found the remains, which were subsequently confirmed as those of Mr Sakhi.
She said the volunteers — Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Bashir and Abuzar — first spotted the body and alerted others in the area. They, along with other volunteers, brought the body down from Camp 1 to the base camp.
ACP General Secretary Ayaz Shigri told Dawn that the body had been shifted to the Broad Peak Base Camp and would be airlifted to Skardu by Pakistan Army helicopters, weather permitting.
He said the bodies of two remaining climbers have not yet been recovered.
Mr Shigri said rescue efforts for the remaining climbers would resume once weather conditions improved and the area was deemed safe.
He added that the local volunteers located Mr Sakhi’s body at an altitude of 5,600 metres.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2026
