Pakistan Army helicopters and elite rescue teams were deployed on Friday to search for 10 international mountaineers missing after an avalanche on Broad Peak.
The group, which includes record-setting climber Nirmal Purja, lost satellite contact around midday Thursday at an elevation of roughly 6,600 meters.
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According to Chhang Dawa Sherpa, board director of Seven Summit Treks, the climbers plummeted directly from that altitude.
The missing team comprises five Nepalese climbers, Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nathira, American mountaineer Mallory Geis, a Chinese national identified as Wang, and an additional foreign climber.
Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, confirmed the team has been out of communication since Thursday.
Military aircraft have joined ground searchers at the last known coordinates of the missing party.
In an official statement, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said it is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with all concerned stakeholders.
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The organization added that it remains in active communication with authorities and stands in solidarity with the families of the missing mountaineers.
Two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters were dispatched on Friday morning to scan the region around the 8,047-meter mountain, the world's 12th-highest peak.
Expedition leader Nirmal Purja, 43, gained international fame in 2019 after climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in 189 days.
The missing group includes 39-year-old Mallory Geis on her first Pakistani 8,000-meter ascent.
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Sohail Sakhi, a veteran high-altitude photographer and geographer, was guiding for Pakistani agency Moving Mountains on what was planned as his final major summit attempt.
