Pakistani rescuers have recovered bodies of three of 10 climbers swept away in avalanche on world’s 12th-highest peak.
“Today it is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” his expedition company, Elite Exped, said on social media on Saturday.
“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive,” it added, without giving details.
Purja, 43, was leading the group of 10 climbers on the 8,051-metre (26,414-foot) Broad Peak in northern Pakistan when an avalanche struck on Thursday, and the group was reported missing.
Broad Peak is the world’s 12th-highest mountain, a technically difficult climb in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Earlier, Pakistani officials said rescuers had located four bodies and recovered three of them on Friday in harsh weather that hampered flights by search-and-rescue helicopters. Efforts continued on Saturday.
The regional Gilgit-Baltistan government identified the three as Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy and American climber Mallory Geis.
Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest.
The expedition comprised five Nepali climbers, the Omani and American climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and one other climber, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which first reported the group missing.
‘Shocked’
Expedition leader Purja is a Nepali-born former soldier in the British army widely known as Nims Dai.
He climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary, 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. His record was surpassed in 2023.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah offered his condolences over the “tragic” deaths of Purja and the other climbers, which he said had “shocked us”.
“The physical journey of all the deceased climbers … has been interrupted, but the history of their courage, dedication, and contributions will always remain inspiring,” Shah said in a statement on social media.
The 10 climbers were swept away in an avalanche at about midday on Thursday.
The area in which the search was taking place is “remote and difficult”, said Sajid Hussain, deputy director of the tourism department in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Of the world’s 14 highest peaks, eight are in Nepal, five in Pakistan and one in Tibet. Climbing experts say barely more than three dozen mountaineers have climbed all 14 peaks to date. Broad Peak is considered one of Pakistan’s most challenging climbs.
Nepal’s Gurung, known to his friends as Yukta, climbed Everest more times than anyone else from the Gurung community, with 10 successful ascents to his name, Nepal’s Online Khabar noted. He also successfully climbed 12 of the world’s 8,000-metre (26,246ft) peaks.
Yukta had also set a record by summiting Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second-highest peak, within 24 hours. He was regularly involved in rescue operations for tourists stranded in the mountains.