Mountaineer Nirmal Purja’s Body Recovered Days After Avalanche Killed Crew

The body of renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja has been recovered from Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, three days after a deadly avalanche claimed the lives of his entire 10-member expedition team.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed on Sunday that a ground rescue team located Purja at approximately 5,700 metres (about 18,700 feet) on the 8,047-metre mountain. Three additional bodies were sighted nearby, though their identities had not yet been confirmed at the time of the announcement. Rescue teams planned to transport the recovered remains to a Japanese base camp amid extremely difficult terrain, ongoing avalanche risk, and weather conditions that have prevented reliable helicopter operations.

Purja, 43, was leading an international team on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest peak, when an avalanche struck on Thursday morning, July 30. GPS trackers showed a rapid descent consistent with the climbers being swept down a west-facing gully between Camp 2 and Camp 3. Contact was lost with the group, which included five other Nepalis, a Pakistani guide, an Omani climber, an American climber, and a Chinese climber.

Elite Exped, the company co-founded by Purja, confirmed on Saturday that he and the other members of the expedition had not survived. Earlier recoveries included the bodies of Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy, the first Omani to summit Everest, American climber Sarah Mallory Geis, and Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung. Subsequent recoveries brought the identified remains to include other Nepali guides such as Nima Sherpa. All 10 members of the team are now confirmed dead.

Search and recovery operations have been hampered by harsh high-altitude conditions, steep slopes, and the threat of further avalanches. Drones and ground teams continued efforts to locate the remaining bodies. Helicopters had previously ferried some remains to Skardu for identification.

Purja, born in Nepal and a former British Army Gurkha and Special Forces soldier, rose to international prominence after climbing all 14 of the world’s peaks above 8,000 metres in just over six months in 2019, a feat documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. He later helped lead the first winter ascent of K2. In recent years he had been pursuing a second completion of the 14 eight-thousanders, this time without supplemental oxygen. Days before the climb he posted on social media asking Broad Peak for “safe passage up and back down,” noting that he took “zero mountains for granted.”

Tributes poured in from the mountaineering community, political leaders, and the British royal family. Nepal’s prime minister described the loss as a shock and highlighted the climbers’ courage and contributions. Colleagues remembered Purja as an experienced, fearless leader who elevated the profile of Nepali climbers and Sherpas.