A ground team from Gilgit-Baltistan's Shigar region has recovered the body of Asma Mushtaq, a 34-year-old Pakistani climber who died on Spantik Peak due to high-altitude sickness on August 20. The recovery mission was carried out by a self-funded team of six volunteers who searched for nearly eight hours before finding the body near Camp 3 at an altitude of approximately 6,250 meters. This is the second attempt to recover Mushtaq's body, with previous efforts hindered by heavy snowfall. Pakistan Army helicopters are expected to airlift her body from the base camp in Skardu after its arrival.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-31,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On August 20, Pakistani climber Asma Mushtaq died on Spantik Peak in Gilgit-Baltistan while descending from the mountain due to high-altitude sickness. It took a rescue team nearly 10 days to recover her body, which was finally retrieved on Monday after a new recovery mission was initiated by a five-member team from Shigar. The team, led by Abbas Ali, had earlier attempts cancelled due to heavy snowfall and were able to locate the body near Camp 3 at an altitude of approximately 6,250 meters. The recovery team's efforts are considered a self-funded mission, as they were not sponsored by any organization.
Written for “Death on Spantik Peak” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 3310 · logged 2026-08-31
A ground team recovered the body of deceased Pakistani climber Asma Mushtaq from Gilgit-Baltistan’s Spantik Peak on Monday, almost 10 days after her death on the 7,027-metre-tall mountain.
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team → recover → mountain
The 34-year-old climber died on Aug 20 while descending from the mountain after suffering from high-altitude sickness.
Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) Secretary General Ayaz Shigri told Dawn that a five-member team, comprising high-altitude mountaineers from Shigar, had initiated a new recovery mission on Friday after earlier attempts remained unsuccessful due to heavy snowfall.
Earlier recovery missions were carried out by a six-member team, and the new team comprised Mehboob, Hussain Ali, Mazahir Hussain, Mehboob Ali, Muhammad Abidin and Abbas Ali, who led the operation, Shigri said.
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Shigri → die → operation
These volunteers were from Arundu in Shigar and carried out the operation as a self-funded mission, he added.
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he → carry → mission
The rescue team began the operation at 3am today and found the body after around eight hours of searching, at around 11am.
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team → begin → am
The team recovered the body near Camp 3 of the peak, which is located at a height of approximately 6,250 metres, Shigri said.
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Shigri → recover → metres
He added that the body would be brought back to Camp 2 today and Pakistan Army helicopters were expected to airlift Mushtaq’s body to Skardu after its arrival at the base camp later.
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helicopters → add → camp
Shigri had told Dawn the day that Mushtaq died that she was part of a five-member Pakistani women’s expedition team that summited Spantik, which included climbers Zoni Aslam, Zaba Shigri, Shama and Sohana.
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which → tell → climbers
The mountaineer had successfully reached the 7,027m summit of Spantik and was in good health at the time, the ACP said in statements issued on Thursday.
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ACP → reach → Thursday
However, she developed a serious high-altitude medical emergency at an elevation of about 6,400m during her descent.
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she → develop → descent
High-altitude sickness encompasses a range of pulmonary and cerebral conditions caused by hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, due to rapid ascent and inadequate acclimatisation to high altitudes.
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sickness → encompass → altitudes
Climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns have worsened conditions on the peaks of the Karakoram Range in GB, creating serious difficulties for mountaineers.
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shifts → induce → mountaineers
Experts have also pointed out that bringing a body down from a high-altitude peak, particularly from above 6,000m, is an extremely risky and challenging task.
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bringing → point → m
In many cases, bodies at such extreme altitudes are left and buried under the snow rather than being brought down.
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bodies → leave → snow
Sajid Sadpara buried the body of his father, renowned Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, at around 8,000m on K2 in 2021.
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Sadpara → bury → 2021
