World-renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, a former British special forces member, is among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, rescue officials have said. The Alpine Club of Pakistan reported that seven climbers had been spotted via aerial drone footage, but their identities and condition could not yet be verified. The club said the entire team had been out of communication since the avalanche struck.
Rescuers earlier said four bodies had been found and efforts were under way to retrieve them despite harsh weather. Three of the deceased have been identified as Pur Bahadur Gurung, a Nepali citizen; Nadhira Alharthy, the first Omani to climb Everest; and US climber Mallory Geis. Their bodies have been transported to a hospital. A police spokesperson said preliminary reports indicated four bodies had been recovered, with the condition of remaining climbers still being verified.
Purja, also known as Nims Dai, made history in 2019 when he climbed all 14 of the world’s peaks above 8,000 metres in just over six months, significantly cutting the previous record. He later led the first team to summit K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in winter.
Search efforts have been hampered by poor weather and limited availability of helicopters, which in Pakistan are operated by the military. Trackers carried by the climbers indicated a rapid loss of altitude, suggesting the avalanche struck at around 9am local time at 6,579 metres, between camp two and camp three on the mountain’s west ridge. According to Climbing magazine, Geis’s tracker showed a sudden descent of 543 metres, while Alharthy’s tracker showed a descent of 1,651 metres.
Purja’s business partner, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, said data appeared to show continuing movement from Purja’s tracking device after the initial incident. “Initially, it appeared that he had been swept downhill by the avalanche,” he told the Nepali news site Kantipur. “But after the point where the tracking had stopped, the location appears to have shifted again.” A search team has been dispatched to verify reports that one climber’s location appears to be near the base of the mountain. The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed the deaths of three climbers, while the search for other missing climbers, including Chinese national Wang Zhong and Pakistani and Nepali high-altitude workers, continued.
