Nirmal Purja and 9 climbers missing after Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan

Nirmal Purja and 9 climbers missing after Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan

Rescuers are searching for 10 climbers, including renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. Army helicopters have been deployed as part of the search-and-rescue operation, though bad weather has continued to hamper efforts as of Friday, July 31, 2026.

The avalanche occurred around noon Thursday while the expedition team was moving between Camp 2 and Camp 3 during a summit push. The group lost all communication with their base camp immediately following the event.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed on Friday that two expedition members were killed: Pur Bahadur Gurung Yukta of Nepal and Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman. The club stated that Nadhira’s body has been recovered and is being transported by helicopter to Skardu, while arrangements for Yukta’s transport are underway.

Other government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, reported that four bodies have been located in total. Efforts to retrieve these bodies continue despite harsh weather conditions. Officials have not yet identified the other two recovered individuals.

The expedition was led by Purja, a Nepal-born former soldier in the British army known as Nims Dai. Purja, 43, is a former member of the elite Gorkha Regiment and the UK’s Special Boat Service. He gained global fame in 2019 by climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks in six months and six days, a feat featured in the documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. He was awarded an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.

Purja’s presence on Broad Peak was not originally planned. In a post on X on July 27, he wrote: This wasn’t planned. But opportunities don’t scream: they whisper to those already working in silence. He noted that summiting Broad Peak would leave him one mountain away from becoming the first person to climb all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres twice without supplemental oxygen. Purja had recently summited Gasherbrum II on July 21, which was his 57th ascent of an eight-thousander.

Despite the disaster, there is some hope for survivors. Movement was reportedly detected on Purja’s tracking device after the avalanche. Parth Upadhayay, a friend of Purja, told NDTV that he had spoken to the climber on Sunday to wish him a happy birthday and described Purja as a fighter.

The expedition included a diverse group of climbers:

• Five Nepali climbers, including Pur Bahadur Gurung Yukta
• Sohail Sakhi, a Pakistani mountaineer, geographer, and high-altitude photographer from Hunza
• Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman
• Mallory Geis, a 39-year-old from San Antonio, USA
• A Chinese climber identified as Wang
• One additional foreign climber

For Mallory Geis, this was her first attempt at an 8,000-metre peak in Pakistan. For Sohail Sakhi, a guide for the travel company Moving Mountains, the climb was expected to be his final one. Moving Mountains had announced late last month that the team was traveling to the town of Askole to begin the ascent.

Broad Peak rises to 8,051 metres (or 8,047 metres according to some officials) and is the world's 12th-highest mountain. It is located approximately 8 kilometres from K2 in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. The Karakoram range is home to five of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, though the region is prone to rapidly changing weather and fatal avalanches.

Search operations continue for the remaining missing climbers.