GILGIT: Pakistani clim­bers Naila Kiani and Sir­baz Khan survived an avalanche near the summit of Tibet’s Shishap­a­ngma peak (8,027 met­res), but two climbers from the US and Nepal died, and two others from the US and Nepal went missing after massive avalanches engulfed the main climbing route.

Mr Sirbaz and Ms Kiani were part of the Imagine Nepal expedition team, commencing their summit attempt on Friday evening. Saad Munawar, the expedition manager of Mr Sirbaz, confirmed their safe return to Camp 1.

According to Nepalese media, the avalanche str­uck the climbing route abo­ve 7,800m as climbers atte­m­pted to reach the su­mmit point early on Satur­day at aro­und 7am Pak­is­tani time. American cli­mber Anna Gutu and her Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, lost their lives in the avalanche, while another Ame­r­ican climber Gina Marie and her guide, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa from Nepal, are missing, it added.

Rescuers have recove­r­ed bodies of the two climbers, while a search for the missing ones is ongoing.

Mr Munawar said he had communicated with Mr Sirbaz via satellite phone, confirming their safe return to Camp 1 after abandoning their mission.

On October 2, Ms Kiani and Mr Sirbaz became the first Pakistani duo to summit Cho Oyu (8,201m) in Tibet, the world’s sixth-highest peak.

Ms Kiani is the first Pakistani woman climber to summit 10 peaks above 8,000m and the only Pakistani to ascend seven peaks above 8,000m in six months. Mr Sirbaz is the only Pakistani to summit 13 peaks above 8,000m, and the only one to conquer 10 mountains above 8,000m without the use of supplementary oxygen.

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Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told Dawn that both Pakistani climbers had safely reached Camp 1.

Ms Kiani’s official page on social media said, “We share with great sadness that 2 avalanches have caused the death of 4 climbers close to the summit of Shishapangma, leading to the aborted mission of Naila and Sirbaz… They are now both back at camp 1, very shaken and distressed after witnessing the avalanche take the lives of their very own friends @ginamarierzucidlo and @anyatraveler. The other climbers were Sherpas Mingma and Lama, both sources of inspiration in the mountaineering community. We share our deepest heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of these climbers.”

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023