PAKISTAN: Famed climber Nirmal Purja among 10 killed in avalanche

One of the climbers killed is Nepal-born Nirmal Purja, who climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in under seven months (file photo) – Image: Subash Shrestha/Pacific Press/IMAGO

A major search was launched after an avalanche struck the expedition high on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. The confirmation ended hopes of a rescue and marked the loss of one of the world’s best-known high-altitude climbers.

Celebrated climber Nirmal Purja and nine other mountaineers have been confirmed dead after an avalanche on Pakistan‘s Broad Peak, his expedition company said on Saturday.

The confirmation came a day after rescuers located four bodies while searching for the 10-member expedition.

How did Purja and the other mountaineers die?

“It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” Purja’s company Elite Expeditions said in a social media post.

“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”

The climbers had been missing since Thursday, when an avalanche struck the expedition at around 6,600 meters (21,650 feet) on Broad Peak. The party is believed to have been swept away.

The mountain is the 12th highest in the world and lies near Pakistan’s border with China (file photo) – Image: Photoshot/picture alliance

Two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters joined the operation on Friday, while an experienced ground team was deployed to the area where the group was last believed to have been.

Pakistani security sources said four bodies had been located that day, although they had not yet been recovered.

At the time, rescuers were still searching for the remaining members of the group.

The deaths of all 10 climbers were confirmed on Saturday.

The expedition included Purja and five other Nepalese climbers, including several Sherpa guides, as well as mountaineers from four other countries.

They were Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nathira Ahmed, US climber Mallory Geis and China’s Wang Zhong.

Who was Nirmal Purja?

Nirmal Purja, widely known as Nims Dai, was a British-Nepali mountaineer who became one of the best-known high-altitude climbers of his generation.

The 43-year-old served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and later the elite Special Boat Service before leaving the military to become a full-time mountaineer and guide.

Purja shot to international fame in 2019 when he climbed all 14 of the world’s mountains above 8,000 meters in just over six months, dramatically beating the previous record of nearly eight years.

His feat was chronicled in the 2021 Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,” which helped bring him a global following.

In 2021, Purja was also part of the 10-member Nepali team that completed the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

Before the latest ascent, Purja had posted his hopes for the expedition on X, asking the mountain for safe passage.

What is Broad Peak?

Broad Peak stands at just over 8,000 meters in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, close to the border with China. It is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and lies only a few kilometers from the better-known K2.

Originally designated K3 during the surveying of the Karakoram, its more modern name refers to its unusually wide summit ridge, which stretches for roughly 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile).

The region contains five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters and attracts climbers from across the globe, although avalanches and rapidly changing weather make expeditions particularly dangerous.

DW.com/NAN 02-08-26

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