Body of US climber who died in Broad Peak avalanche airlifted from base camp
Dawn
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GILGIT: The body of US climber Sarah Mallory Geis was airlifted from the Broad Peak base camp on Tuesday after the recovery operation was paused due to continued bad weather.
Geis died in a deadly avalanche that[ killed](https://Body" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://Body of US climber who died in Broad Peak avalanche airlifted from base camp) a 10-member expedition last month.
Her body was https://www.dawn.com/news/2024322">recovered by three local porters voluntarily from Broad Peak (8,047m) on Friday, 22 days after she went missing in the avalanche.
Local volunteers have moved the body to Broad Peak basecamp.
General Secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan Ayaz Shigri confirmed to Dawn that the body of the US climber was airlifted to Skardu through Pakistan Army helicopters.
The body was received by ACP officials, district administration, police and medical officials at a helipad in Skardu.
Shigri said the body had been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Skardu and would be sent to Islamabad after completion of relevant legal procedures.
Earlier, Shigri had told Dawn that the search for the tenth deceased member, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, was underway.
The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the international expedition led by world-renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains.
Purja’s company later confirmed there were no survivors.
Broad Peak is the world’s 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000-metre-plus ascents.
https://www.dawn.com/feeds/home#mission-to-retrieve-asma-mushtaqs-body-from-spatnik-resumes" id="mission-to-retrieve-asma-mushtaqs-body-from-spatnik-resumes" title="Permalink">Mission to retrieve Asma Mushtaq’s body from Spatnik resumes
Meanwhile, a rescue team resumed its trek at Spantik on Tuesday to recover the body of Pakistani mountaineer Dr Asma Mushtaq, who https://www.dawn.com/news/2024223">died while descending the 7,027m peak in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Shigar district.
The 34-year-old died on Aug 20 while descending from the mountain also known as Golden Peak, after suffering from high-altitude sickness.
Her body remains at Camp 3, which is located at a height of approximately 6,250 metres.
Efforts to retrieve her body were earlier disrupted due to severe weather.
ACP’s Shigri told Dawn on Monday that weather conditions were expected to improve on Tuesday, after which the rescue team, comprising six high-altitude porters, would make another attempt to bring Mushtaq’s body down to the base camp.
Subsequently, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X that the rescue team had resumed its operation after weather conditions improved.
“The rescue team has once again departed from the base camp and is now heading towards Camp 2.
The team is moving carefully and will continue the operation as conditions permit.
We pray for their safety and success,” he said.
Shigri had told Dawn that Pakistan Army helicopters were expected to airlift Mushtaq’s body to Skardu after its arrival at the base camp.
During her ascent, Mushtaq had successfully reached the 7,027-metre summit of Spantik and was in good health at the time, ACP said in statements issued on Thursday.
However, she developed a serious high-altitude medical emergency at an elevation of about 6,400 metres during the descent.
High-altitude sickness encompasses a range of pulmonary and cerebral conditions caused by hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, due to rapid ascent and inadequate acclimatisation to high altitudes.
Her mountain guide, Akbar Ali, and expedition guide, Muhammad Amin, immediately came to her assistance.
“Despite the immediate and dedicated efforts of her mountain guides, who provided every possible assistance under extremely challenging conditions, she could not survive,” Karrar Haidri, a senior vice president for ACP, said in a condolence statement.
Shigri had said Mushtaq was part of a five-member Pakistani women’s expedition team that summited Spantik, which included climbers Zoni Aslam, Zaba Shigri, Shama and Sohana.
Climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns have worsened conditions on the peaks of the Karakoram Range in GB, creating https://www.dawn.com/news/2023166/avalanche-risk-bad-weather-disrupt-climbing-season-in-gilgit-baltistan">serious difficulties for mountaineers.
Additional input from Jamil Nagri