A Pakistani high altitude porter was reported missing while a Japanese and a Chinese climber along with a Nepali Sherpa, suffered injuries in avalanches on Broad Peak in the Karakoram range on Monday. Attempts for a helicopter evacuation of the injured failed due to adverse weather.
At around 11 am on Monday, as seven climbers were on the mountain, an avalanche ripped through the lower section below camp-1. It apparently crushed the Pakistani porter and injured other climbers.
Broad Peak is the 12th highest mountain in the world, standing tall at 8,051m. It is part of the Gasherbrum massif in Baltistan on the border of Pakistan and China, right across the glacier from K-2.
Nepali Sherpa Lakpa from the Seven Summits Trek team, along with some other climbers, immediately mounted a rescue effort, pulling one climber out of the snow. Another climber, who had suffered several fractures, was lowered down to a point where they could use their crampons to climb down and receive treatment.
“Lakpa soon received a radio call from one of the injured. Lakpa and many others from our camp and neighbouring camps, rushed to the scene to assist with rescue and recovery,” wrote climber Chris Jensen Burke on her blog from Broad Peak base camp.
“The climber that is missing, presumed dead, is a Pakistani high altitude porter who was assisting another team at our base camp.”
