Nirmal Purja's body found on Broad Peak after deadly avalanche in Gilgit-Baltistan

Lahore,UPDATED: Aug 2, 2026 16:08 IST

The body of veteran Nepalese-British mountaineer Nirmal Purja was found on Sunday, three days after he and nine other climbers were swept away in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said. Purja was 43.

The club said Purja's body was found at an altitude of around 5,700 metres. So far, five bodies have been recovered, while efforts are continuing to locate the remaining five climbers.

"The ground rescue team has reached Nirmal Purja 'Nims Dai' at approximately 5,700m on Broad Peak, where three additional bodies have also been sighted, though their identities remain unconfirmed," the Alpine Club of Pakistan said. It said the ground team would bring the bodies down to the Japanese camp, and added that recovery efforts were continuing under extremely difficult terrain conditions.

The club said the mountain's terrain, the risk of avalanches and steep slopes were making rescue efforts difficult, while helicopters could not be used because of the weather. Purja and the other climbers — five from Nepal, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American and one Chinese — were swept away on Thursday when the avalanche hit Broad Peak in the Karakoram range near K2. Broad Peak is the world's 12th-highest mountain and is considered one of the most challenging peaks to climb.

On Saturday, Purja's expedition enterprise, Elite Exped, announced that all members of the group had died. Four of the ten bodies were recovered on Friday, and Alpine Club of Pakistan President Major General Irfan Arshad said three of them were identified as Oman's Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy, Nepal's Pur Bahadur Gurung and American Mallory Geis. The bodies were airlifted to Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Purja had an illustrious mountaineering career. In 2019, he climbed all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres around the world in six months and six days, setting a new record. He was about to complete his mission of climbing all 14 eight-thousanders twice after completing Broad Peak. The latest recovery marks a key development in the operation, which continues as teams search for the remaining climbers in difficult conditions.

With PTI Inputs

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