Key facts
- Mountaineer Nirmal Purja and 10 expedition members died in an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak.
- Purja's company, Elite Expeditions, confirmed the deaths of all 10 members.
- Search teams are recovering bodies, with three identified climbers being Pur Bahadur Gurung, Nadhira Alharthy, and Mallory Geis.
- The avalanche occurred around 9am local time on Thursday at an altitude of 6,579 metres.
- Rescue efforts are challenged by harsh weather and limited helicopter support in Pakistan.
World-renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and all 10 members of his expedition team have died in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed that an avalanche struck the group around midday on Thursday, and the entire team has been out of communication since.
Search teams are working to recover bodies, with four initially found and three identified as Pur Bahadur Gurung, Nadhira Alharthy (the first Omani to climb Everest), and US climber Mallory Geis. Seven climbers were spotted via aerial drone footage, but their identities and condition remain unverified.
The avalanche is believed to have occurred near 9am local time at an altitude of 6,579 metres (21,585ft) on the mountain’s west ridge, a popular ascent route. Tracker data showed rapid descents for Geis and Alharthy, suggesting they were caught in the slide.
Rescue efforts have been significantly hampered by harsh weather conditions and the limited availability of helicopters in Pakistan, which are primarily run by the military, unlike the more established private search and rescue networks in Nepal. Visual searches were halted as night fell on Friday.
Purja, also known as Nims Dai, was famous for climbing all 14 of the world's peaks over 8,000 metres in just over six months in 2019, a record that has since been surpassed. He also led the first team to summit K2 in winter. His business partner noted that Purja's tracking device appeared to shift location after the initial incident, suggesting potential movement after the avalanche.