Renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja has died in a powerful avalanche on one of the world’s highest peaks, his climbing company has confirmed.
The 43-year-old British-Nepali climber was among 10 people reported missing after the avalanche struck in Pakistan.
Mr Purja was leading an expedition on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, in the country’s north when the avalanche hit on Thursday.
After search operations resumed this morning, his company, Elite Exped, confirmed that he had been killed.
“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”
Search teams recovered the remains of three mountaineers yesterday.
The regional government said in a statement issued last night that those found included an American woman, an Omani woman and a Nepali man.
Powerful avalanche
The climbers were ascending Broad Peak at an altitude of about 6,600 metres on Thursday when the avalanche struck, according to regional authorities.
The 10-member expedition included Mr Purja, five Nepali climbers, and one climber each from Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China.
Officials said the team’s last contact came on Thursday morning, before reports of the major avalanche emerged later that evening.
“Data from their tracking devices indicates that they were thrown hundreds of metres down the mountainside,” Naila Kiani, from Pakistan’s Alpine Club, told Le Monde newspaper.
Super peaks
Mr Purja wrote on X this week that he was nearing a bid to become the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without using supplemental oxygen.
“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.
Before becoming a full-time mountaineer and expedition guide, Mr Purja served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines. He went on to set several records in the climbing world.
Between April and October 2019, he climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” — mountains higher than 8,000 metres — in six months and six days, a record at the time.
British adventurer Bear Grylls paid tribute to Mr Purja in a message on Instagram, writing: “Heartbreaking news for so many climbers around the world who had a relationship with this remarkable and unique man.
“We will never forget you Nims and your unstoppable spirit.”
Broad Peak rises in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan and is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. Its ascent is considered one of the most demanding and technical among climbs of peaks above 8,000 metres.
An Austrian team made the first successful ascent in 1957.
Additional reporting PA
