KATHMANDU — Nepalese authorities have not reported the discovery of five missing climbers in Nepal on Aug. 9, 2026, and available recent reporting does not support such a development.
The latest major mountaineering recovery involving five climbers in the region occurred in Pakistan, where military helicopters on Aug. 6 airlifted the bodies of five climbers killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak, according to Pakistani authorities and the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
The July 31 avalanche struck a 10-member international expedition on the 8,047-metre Broad Peak in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region. Among those whose bodies were recovered were renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, Chinese climber Zhong Wang and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa. The remains were transported from the mountain to a military hospital in Skardu, officials said.
The recovery brought the total number of bodies retrieved from the avalanche to eight, while two climbers remained missing and search efforts continued, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan. The multinational expedition included climbers from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed condolences to the victims' families and said the country remained committed to the recovery operation in coordination with the embassies of the affected countries, officials said. The recovered remains were expected to be transported to Islamabad after coordination with the relevant diplomatic missions.
Nepal has separately recorded several mountaineering deaths this year. During the 2026 spring climbing season, five climbers and mountain guides died on Mount Everest and Mount Makalu, according to Nepal's Department of Tourism. Three were Nepali and two were foreign nationals.
A separate incident on Mount Everest in May involved Nepali Sherpa guide Dawa Sherpa, who disappeared while descending from the mountain but was found alive nearly a week later by a cleanup team near the Khumbu Icefall, according to officials.
As of Aug. 9, there is no verified evidence from Nepalese authorities or major international news agencies that the bodies of five missing climbers have been spotted in Nepal. The reported recovery of five climbers' bodies relates to the Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan.
