Avalanche Kills Nirmal Purja and 10 on Broad Peak Climb

At around noon on Thursday, an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak killed Nirmal Purja, the Nepali climber known as Nimsdai, while he was leading an expedition on the world’s 12th-highest mountain.

Purja was among climbers caught in the avalanche on the 8,047-metre peak in the Karakoram range, according to Guardian World. His company, Elite Exped, confirmed his death and said other expedition members also did not survive.

“Today it is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” Elite Exped said.

For readers tracking the earlier search phase, XOOMAR has also covered the initial report that an avalanche left Nirmal Purja’s team missing on Broad Peak.

Thursday’s Broad Peak avalanche killed Nirmal Purja during a guided expedition

Purja had been leading 10 other people when the avalanche struck, the Guardian reported. The expedition included Nepali climbers, plus climbers from the US, Pakistan, Oman and China, according to Karrar Haidri, vice-president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

Elite Exped also confirmed the deaths of other expedition members, including Purja’s climbing partners and guides Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta), a Nepali citizen, and Nima Sherpa.

The Guardian reported that victims included Nadhira Alharthy, the first Omani to climb Everest, and Mallory Geis, a US climber. Other reports cited Pakistani officials saying bodies had been recovered or found as rescue work continued.

The available reporting contains some variation in the expedition count. The Guardian describes Purja as among 11 climbers caught in the avalanche, while BBC and ABC reports describe a 10-member expedition. The core fact is not in dispute: Purja is dead, and Elite Exped says other members of the expedition did not survive.

Saturday confirmation turned a rescue effort into a fatal expedition report

By Friday, rescuers had said four bodies had been found and that efforts were under way to retrieve them despite harsh weather. CBS reported that rescuers backed by military helicopters resumed the search Saturday for at least six members of the expedition.

Trackers carried by the climbers showed a rapid loss of altitude, the Guardian reported, suggesting the team had been caught in an avalanche. Purja’s tracker shifted location after the initial rapid descent.

The Guardian said GPS data suggested the avalanche occurred close to 9am local time at 6,579 metres (21,585ft), between camps two and three on the west ridge, the mountain’s most popular ascent route. That timing differs from the around-noon timing cited elsewhere in the same reporting, so the exact sequence still needs official clarification.

Analysis: The tracker detail matters because it narrows the likely area of the incident without explaining the cause. It does not establish weather, snowpack conditions, route decisions or whether anyone survived the initial slide. Those remain unverified.

Purja’s 2019 record made him one of mountaineering’s most visible figures

Purja’s death lands hard because he was not just another elite climber. He was one of the best-known modern high-altitude mountaineers, a former Gurkha and UK Special Forces member whose career helped push Himalayan climbing into mainstream view.

In 2019, Purja climbed all 14 of the world’s peaks above 8,000 metres in just over six months. BBC reported the feat took 189 days, breaking the previous record by more than seven years. His ascent campaign later became the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.”

He later led the first team to summit K2 in winter. In 2018, he was awarded an MBE by the queen for his achievements in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.

Purja also became known for rescues at extreme altitude. The Guardian reported that he led a rescue effort on Annapurna for climber Chin Qui Kin, who had been without food, water or oxygen for 40 hours and later died in hospital. Less than a month later, Purja and his team rescued two climbers from 8,400m, giving up their own supplementary oxygen.

“For me it’s not about ego,” Purja previously told the Guardian. “It’s about principles. You can’t call yourself a climber and not help in that situation.”

Broad Peak’s west ridge exposed the expedition to extreme-altitude consequences

Broad Peak is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and a major objective for elite climbers. It sits in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, where altitude, weather, avalanches, falling ice and rock can turn a climb into a rescue problem within minutes.

CBS reported that accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude and rapidly changing weather. In this case, rescuers were working in harsh weather while trying to locate and recover bodies above high camps.

ABC reported that Purja had written on X earlier in the week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without oxygen. BBC reported his final post said he had initially planned to climb Gasherbrum II, then realized Broad Peak could leave him with only one more mountain before completing all 14 eight-thousanders twice without oxygen.

“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted,” Purja wrote, according to BBC.

Analysis: That post now reads as a stark risk marker, not a prediction. The sources do not establish why the avalanche released or whether the expedition’s schedule affected exposure. They do show that Purja was attempting a highly demanding objective on a mountain already described as technically difficult.

The next verified details will decide the final account of the disaster

The immediate reporting gap is the full, reconciled list of victims. Names, nationalities, recovery status and expedition roles are still being pieced together across company statements, rescue updates and official accounts.

Also unresolved: the precise time of the avalanche, the exact location along the route, and the conditions at the moment the team was hit. Tracker data gives clues. It doesn’t answer those questions by itself.

XOOMAR will update this story as verified information comes in from Elite Exped, Pakistani rescue officials and mountaineering authorities. Our global desk is also following other developing casualty stories, including 13 Dead as Japan Earthquake Traps Survivors in Rubble, where official updates are central to the final record.

The Stakes

• The avalanche killed Nirmal Purja, one of the world’s best-known high-altitude climbers.
• The disaster struck Broad Peak, an 8,047-metre mountain in Pakistan’s Karakoram range.
• The deaths highlight the extreme risks faced by guided expeditions on the world’s highest peaks.