Climbers’ Remains Return
The bodies of three Nepali climbers killed in the Broad Peak avalanche returned to Kathmandu on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the disaster claimed all 10 members of an international climbing group in northern Pakistan.
Footage shows the coffins being unloaded from a truck after arriving in Kathmandu. Mourners open one coffin and check a body bag. Later, people line up with flowers to pay their respects as a wreath beside a coffin reads ‘Heartfelt tribute to Gyalu Sherpa’.
“We couldn’t even imagine that this incident had happened. It is truly heartbreaking. All of us in the mountain community are deeply saddened,” Nepal Mountaineering Association General Secretary Rajendra Bahadur Lama said.
Nepal Pays Tribute
Relatives, fellow climbers and Nepal Mountaineering Association officials gathered at Tribhuvan International Airport to receive the three men. Their remains were later taken for tributes at the association’s headquarters in Naxal.
“Their loss is a great tragedy for their families, their country, and the entire mountaineering community around the world,” Nepal Mountaineering Association President Phur Gelje Sherpa said.
The three were among 10 climbers killed when an avalanche tore through the group on July 30 as they climbed between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on Broad Peak, at an altitude of about 6,600 metres.
Difficult Recovery Mission
Eight bodies were eventually recovered from the mountain, while two remained unrecovered. Severe weather repeatedly grounded helicopters, forcing rescuers to carry out much of the difficult recovery operation on foot.
“It appears that the lack of adequate rescue and recovery resources in Pakistan may have contributed to the long delay in recovering the bodies, which took almost 11 days,” Fur Gelje Sherpa said.
The avalanche also killed British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Nawang Thendu Sherpa, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, Chinese climber Wang Zhong and American climber Mallory Geis.
Broad Peak rises 8,051 metres in Pakistan’s Karakoram range near K2 and is the world’s 12th-highest mountain.
Article by Viory
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