SRINAGAR: Four bodies have been recovered by Pakistani authorities after an avalanche struck an international climbing expedition on Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, leaving 10 climbers missing, including Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal Purja, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
The avalanche struck the expedition around midday on Thursday on Broad Peak, which rises to 8,047 metres (26,400 feet) in the Karakoram range, the Associated Press reported.
The 10-member team included five Nepalese climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and another foreign climber, the club said.
The climbers have remained out of communication since the avalanche. However, a tracking device being carried by Purja has continued to indicate movement, raising hopes that he may have survived.
Speaking to Kantipur on Friday, Purja’s business partner and Nepal lawmaker Mingma Gyabu Sherpa said data from the device showed that Purja’s location had changed after the avalanche.
Sherpa, as quoted by The Kathmandu Post, said the initial tracking data suggested Purja had been swept downhill by the avalanche, but the location appeared to have shifted again after tracking stopped.
He cautioned that the tracking information could not establish Purja’s condition, although it indicated possible movement following the avalanche. Sherpa also said detailed information about the incident reached them only on Thursday evening, several hours after the avalanche occurred.
Poor weather has prevented helicopters from taking off, delaying aerial search-and-rescue efforts. Sherpa said authorities were preparing to deploy helicopters on Friday morning if weather conditions improved.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said it was coordinating with government authorities to begin an immediate search-and-rescue operation. Its president, Maj Gen Irfan Arshad, along with senior officials, is coordinating efforts to mobilise helicopters and other rescue resources when weather and operational conditions allow.
Purja, widely known as Nims Dai, is a Nepal-born British mountaineer and former Royal Marine. He joined the British Army in 2003 and became a Royal Marine in 2009.
He gained international recognition in 2019 after climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in 189 days, setting a record at the time. His achievement was later documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. The record was surpassed in 2023 by a Norwegian climber and her Nepali Sherpa guide.
Purja began mountaineering in 2012 after trekking to Everest Base Camp. He had initially planned to return home but instead decided to climb Mount Everest, marking the beginning of his high-altitude mountaineering career.
