Rescue team reaches suspected location of Pakistani climber Asma Mushtaq’s body

• The team has searched the area for two hours.
• Recovery op remains active despite difficult conditions.
• Chopper support remains authorised for retrieval efforts.

The rescue team searching for Pakistani climber Dr Asma Mushtaq’s body on Gilgit-Baltistan’s Spantik peak has reached the suspected location, where the body was buried under the snow, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.

Taking to X, the information minister provided an update on the rescue mission, saying that the rescue team had reached the place where the body was suspected to be.

“However, because the place is very large and due to heavy snowfall over the past two days, the body is now completely covered under the snow, making it difficult to locate,” he added.

He added that the operation to retrieve the body was underway.

The Pakistani climber died on August 20 after suffering a serious high-altitude medical emergency while descending from the 7,027-metre-high Spantik Mountain in the Karakoram range, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

The recovery operation had previously been suspended after heavy snowfall and strong winds forced the team to turn back while approaching Camp 3.

However, a day earlier, Tarar said that the mission to retrieve Mushtaq’s body had resumed after weather conditions improved.

“After the weather conditions improved, the rescue team has once again departed from Base Camp and is now heading towards Camp 2,” the minister said in an update posted on X.

He said the team was proceeding carefully and would continue the operation as weather conditions permitted, while expressing hope for the team’s safety and success.

Tarar had said a day earlier that high-altitude porters were expected to reach Camp 3, retrieve Mushtaq’s body and bring it down to Base Camp. However, deteriorating weather conditions prevented the team from proceeding.

A helicopter has also been authorised to assist in the retrieval operation, with coordination established between the Gilgit-Baltistan government and the Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA), Tarar had said.

He added that alternative arrangements were also in place and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was being kept updated on the situation.