Renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers who were swept away by an avalanche in Pakistan have been confirmed dead, Purja’s expedition company said on Saturday, as search teams continued efforts to recover their bodies.
The avalanche struck on Thursday, severing contact with the international expedition led by the 43-year-old climber, reports Dawn.
“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,” it added.
The Gilgit-Baltistan government said the bodies recovered so far had been flown by helicopter to a hospital for formal identification.
The recovered remains include an American woman, an Omani woman and a Nepali man.
Purja, a former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas who later served with the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines, earned global recognition after setting multiple climbing records as a professional mountaineer and expedition guide.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah expressed his condolences over the “tragic” deaths of Purja and the other climbers, saying the incident “has 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 posted on social media.
Police in Gilgit-Baltistan said rescue teams and high-altitude porters continued the search for a second day on Saturday after poor weather forced them to suspend operations the previous day.
According to the Gilgit-Baltistan government, rescuers and Pakistan Army helicopters searched the area while rescue teams remained at the base camp overnight.
“The rescue operation is being conducted under extremely challenging terrain and high-altitude weather conditions by the Pakistani army in coordination with local high-altitude climbers and rescuers,” the government said.
Avalanche struck at 6,600 metres
Regional authorities said the avalanche hit while the climbers were attempting to summit Broad Peak (8,047 metres/26,400 feet).
The team was ascending at an altitude of around 6,600 metres when the disaster occurred on Thursday.
The expedition consisted of 10 members, including Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American and a climber from China.
Officials said the team last made contact on Thursday morning before reports of the powerful avalanche emerged later that evening.
“Data from their tracking devices indicates that they were thrown hundreds of metres down the mountainside,” Naila Kiani of the Pakistan Alpine Club told Le Monde newspaper.
Fida Ali, a climber working closely with Purja since 2023, told AFP that the expedition had prioritised climbing Broad Peak after first summiting G2 in severe weather.
Ali had initially joined the Broad Peak expedition but turned back to escort an exhausted Russian climber, a decision that ultimately saved his life.
“I wanted to go with him (Purja) but couldn’t and came back with her. I was part of the team but survived,” he told AFP.
Chasing another historic milestone
Earlier this week, Purja wrote on X that he was close to becoming the first climber to scale all 14 “super peaks” twice without using supplemental oxygen.
“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.
Purja previously climbed all 14 of the world’s “eight-thousanders” — peaks exceeding 8,000 metres — in just six months and six days between April and October 2019, setting a record at the time.
Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, stands in Pakistan’s Karakoram range and is widely regarded as one of the most demanding and technically challenging climbs among the 8,000-metre peaks.
An Austrian expedition achieved the mountain’s first successful ascent in 1957.
