Mountaineer Nirmal Purja and all 10 members of his expedition were killed in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, BBC reported.
The avalanche struck on 30 July as the team ascended the 8,047-metre peak in the Karakoram range, cutting off all contact with their base camp. Elite Expeditions confirmed the deaths of all 10 members of the multinational expedition on 1 August.
“It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” the company said in a statement, as reported by CNA. “We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah confirmed the deaths. “The tragic death of six Nepalese and four other foreign climbers, including world record holder Nirmal Purja, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan, has shocked us,” he said, as reported by BBC.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of three climbers: American Mallory Geis, Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman, and Pur Bahadur Gurung from Nepal, CNA reported. Search efforts were hampered by severe weather conditions.
Purja’s older brother, Kamal, shared the family’s grief. “It is with the heaviest heart that I share the devastating news that my beloved younger brother, Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, and the other climbers are no longer with us,” he said. “Although our hearts are broken, we are incredibly proud of you. Your legacy will live forever.”
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called Purja “an inspirational man who served in our Armed Forces for many years.” Naila Kiani, a spokesperson for the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told BBC that Purja was “a very experienced climber and fearless.”
The expedition comprised 10 people: Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a Chinese climber.
Purja, 43, was on the verge of becoming the first person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without oxygen. He had written on 27 July that the trip to Broad Peak was unplanned but saw an opportunity to edge closer to that goal.
“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” Purja wrote on X.
Born in a village in western Nepal, Purja joined the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas as a teenager. He spent 16 years in military service, including a decade in the special forces as an extreme cold weather warfare specialist. He was awarded an MBE in 2018 for high-altitude mountaineering.
In 2019, Purja summited all 14 of the world’s peaks above 8,000 metres in 189 days, shattering the previous record by more than seven years. The achievement was chronicled in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” in 2021. That same year, he led the first winter ascent of K2 with a team of nine Nepali climbers.
Purja lived in Hampshire, southern England, with his wife and three-year-old daughter. He is survived by his brother Kamal.
