Body of climber Nirmal Purja, six others recovered after Pakistan avalanche

Rescue teams in Pakistan have recovered the bodies of seven climbers, including the celebrated Nepali-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, from Broad Peak, where an avalanche buried a ten-member international expedition three days ago.

Three climbers remain missing, among them a Pakistani guide, on what was meant to be his final trip to the mountains.

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list 1 of 2Record-breaking climber Nirmal Purja among those killed in avalanche
list 2 of 2Avalanche kills famed climber Purja and nine others in Pakistan

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The avalanche struck the 8,051-metre peak, the world’s twelfth-highest, in Pakistan’s Karakoram range about midday on Thursday, trapping the group in one of mountaineering’s most demanding and remote settings.

Purja’s death, which was confirmed by his expedition company on Saturday, has reverberated far beyond climbing circles.

The 43-year-old, also known as Nims Dai, was a former Gurkha, Nepali soldiers who serve in the British Army. He became a special forces soldier, then a global celebrity in 2019 after racing up all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in a record 189 days – the feat later chronicled in a Netflix documentary.

Search crews located four bodies on Friday but managed to bring down only three as bad weather grounded helicopters. They included Nepali climber, Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as Yukta; Omani mountaineer Nadhira Al Harthy; and American climber Mallory Geis.

On Sunday, a ground team reached Purja and three others: Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa.

Still missing is Sohail Sakhi, a Pakistani guide and photographer who had planned to retire from expedition work after this climb, as well as two others.

The retrieval mission in remote and treacherous terrain is further complicated by Pakistan’s limited capacity for long-line helicopter rescues compared with neighbouring Nepal.

The climbers came from five countries: Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China, reflecting the international attraction of Broad Peak, considered one of the most punishing ascents among the world’s 14 highest mountains.

Tributes have been paid from worldwide.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, said the climbers’ courage, dedication and contributions would remain an inspiration, even though their physical journey had ended.

Purja’s expedition company, Elite Exped, remembered him as a leader who had “inspired millions through his courage and humility”.

Purja’s record-breaking 2019 climb, later surpassed in 2023, propelled him from relative obscurity into one of the most recognisable names in mountaineering, culminating two years later in his role in the first winter ascent of the world’s second-highest peak, K2 in Pakistan, by an all-Nepali team.

Students and teachers gathered around his photograph at Small Heaven School in Nepal’s Chitwan district on Sunday, lighting candles and laying flowers where Purja boarded for eight years before joining the Gurkhas.

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