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 ended hopes of a rescue and marked the loss of one of the world's best-known high-altitude climbers.
"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. Two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters joined the operation on Friday, and four bodies were located that day, though not yet recovered. All 10 climbers were confirmed dead on Saturday.
The expedition included Purja and five other Nepalese climbers, including several Sherpa guides, as well as mountaineers from four other countries: Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nathira Ahmed, US climber Mallory Geis, and China's Wang Zhong.
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.
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. 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.
Source: www.dw.com