Recovery team reaches suspected site of climber Asma Mushtaq’s body on Spantik

A recovery team has reached the suspected location of deceased Pakistani climber Dr Asma Mushtaq’s body on Gilgit-Baltistan’s Spantik Peak, but heavy snowfall has made it difficult to locate her remains, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.

Tarar said the team was searching an area where Mushtaq’s body was believed to be buried under snow and that the recovery operation was under way.

“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 said in a social media post.

The minister said the team had been searching for around two hours as of 4pm and the operation was continuing.

The 34-year-old climber died on August 20 while descending the 7,027-metre Spantik, also known as Golden Peak, after suffering a serious high-altitude medical emergency at around 6,400 metres.

Her body was believed to be at Camp 3, at an elevation of approximately 6,250 metres.

The recovery effort had earlier been suspended because of heavy snowfall and hazardous weather conditions. A team of six high-altitude porters resumed the search on Tuesday after conditions improved.