Mountaineers, diplomats and civil society members gathered in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday for a candlelight vigil honouring 10 climbers killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak, as rescuers recounted the arduous effort to recover their bodies from the high-altitude mountain.
Rain fell as mourners lit candles and prayed for the dead, shielding the flickering flames from the downpour at an open-air sports complex in Islamabad.
The vigil came days after search teams ended an operation that recovered the remains of eight climbers. Two bodies have yet to be recovered.
Among those killed was renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, known as ‘Nimsdai’. Nepal lost six climbers in the July 30 disaster, when a massive avalanche swept through an international expedition on the 8,051-metre peak.
Nepal's ambassador to Pakistan, Rita Dhital, attended the vigil and paid tribute to the dead.
She recalled meeting Purja at her residence in Islamabad before the expedition. Purja had also posted on social media about the meeting, which included Pakistani climbers and officials.
Dhital thanked Pakistani climbers and rescuers who ventured onto the mountain in dangerous weather to search for the missing climbers and recover their remains.
She singled out renowned Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan, who led the recovery effort, as well as the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the military and government officials involved in the operation.
Khan, the first Pakistani to climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks, is a close friend of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, the Nepali expedition leader known as Mingma G.
Mingma G had vowed on social media to bring the climbers down and take them home. Khan stayed with him throughout the recovery effort, even after others had left the site.
Dhital said the remains of all six Nepali climbers had been accounted for. The bodies of Pur Bahadur Gurung ‘Yukta’, Kili Pemba Sherpa ‘Kilu’, Nima Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa were returned to Nepal, while Purja's body was flown to Britain, where his family lives.
The body of Nawang Thendu Sherpa remained on the mountain, exposed above 6,000 metres, after rescuers determined that it was in a precarious location and could not safely be brought down.
Khan said rescuers had set out hoping to find the missing climbers alive. Instead, they found climbers buried beneath the avalanche and used shovels to dig through the snow, recovering the bodies one by one.
Seeing fellow mountaineers dead on the mountain was difficult, Khan said, but the rescuers composed themselves and began the equally arduous task of bringing the bodies down using ropes and makeshift stretchers.
Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said the remains of seven climbers, including all six Nepalis, had been repatriated.
Bad weather repeatedly prevented helicopters from reaching the accident site, forcing rescuers to carry out much of the search and recovery operation on foot, he said.
Eight bodies were eventually brought to a location from where they could be airlifted.
"We have gathered here today to commemorate the passing of our great comrades," Khan told the vigil.
The days following the avalanche had tested not only the endurance of those searching the mountain but also the courage of rescuers who continued on foot when helicopters were unable to reach the site, he said.
