Climbing Icon Nirmal Purja and Team Lost in Broad Peak Avalanche

Famed British Nepali climber Nirmal Purja has been confirmed dead after an avalanche swept through Pakistan’s Broad Peak, his expedition company announced. Elite Expeditions, his company, shared their grief on social media, confirming Purja’s tragic loss and the deaths of other expedition members.

Search efforts resumed Saturday with military helicopter support, focusing on locating at least six members from a 10-member team caught in the avalanche. Officials reported that bodies of three of the four recovered have been identified.

Tahir Khan, a local police official, stated that the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed are being transported to Islamabad. The bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung are in a hospital in Skardu, located in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Search and rescue operations persist amid diminishing hope.

The team lost contact with their base camp Thursday after the avalanche hit while attempting to climb the mountain, according to Karrar Haidri of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. Since then, no communication has been established.

Purja’s company honored him as a mountaineering leader who inspired many through his record-setting achievements and encouraged belief in human potential. Known as Nims Dai, Purja previously climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in 189 days in 2019, an accomplishment featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.

The expedition team included five Nepalese climbers, Omani and American climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, a Chinese climber known as Wang, and another unidentified climber. Moving Mountains, a travel company, had earlier reported the team’s progress towards Broad Peak and expressed support for their venture.

This expedition was Geis’ first climb of an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan. The 39-year-old from San Antonio had closed her Pilates studio to pursue this lifelong dream. Sakhi, serving as a guide and photographer, intended for this to be his final expedition.

“The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” noted Purja’s company. “Through his actions, he inspired millions.”

Broad Peak stands at 26,401 feet, ranking as the world’s 12th-highest mountain. Located in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, it draws climbers worldwide due to its challenging peaks over 26,000 feet. Northern Pakistan expeditions often face risks such as avalanches and unpredictable weather.