Nirmal Purja avalanche death confirmed after Broad Peak disaster
Elite Exped says Nirmal Purja died in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak as recovery crews face a difficult search.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Nirmal Purja avalanche death has been confirmed by Elite Exped, the expedition company he co-founded, after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in northern Pakistan. The company said Purja, widely known as Nims, died in the disaster and that other members of the expedition also did not survive.
Purja was 43. The Nepal-born British-Nepali mountaineer was leading a climb on Broad Peak, a Karakoram mountain in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region and the world’s 12th-highest peak, according to Reuters and the BBC.
What happened to Nirmal Purja on Broad Peak?
Elite Exped announced Purja’s death in a social-media statement on Saturday, saying it followed an avalanche on Broad Peak. The company also named Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as Yukta, and Nima Sherpa among the climbing partners and guides it was mourning, Sky News reported.
The wider picture remains unsettled. Reports differ on whether 10 or 11 climbers were caught in the avalanche and on the number of deaths confirmed by authorities at different points in the operation.
Reuters reported that officials had located victims in a hard-to-reach area but had not yet brought them down safely. Sajid Hussain, a tourism official in Gilgit-Baltistan, said the rescue operation was continuing. CNN also reported concern among emergency workers that further avalanches could endanger recovery teams.
The differing figures reflect a fast-moving operation, rather than a final accounting. What is consistent across the reports is that an avalanche hit the Broad Peak expedition on Thursday and that Purja was among those killed.
Why was Nirmal Purja so well known?
Purja became one of mountaineering’s best-known figures after climbing all 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres in 2019. He completed the challenge in 189 days, or just over six months, according to the BBC.
The feat became the subject of the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, which introduced his climbing to a far wider audience. An “eight-thousander” is a mountain rising more than 8,000 metres above sea level.
Before his record-setting ascent, Purja served in the British military for 16 years, Reuters and the BBC reported. He had been born in Nepal and later lived in England with his family, the BBC said.
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the reported deaths had shocked the country and praised the climbers’ courage and contribution, according to the BBC. Purja’s brother Kamal said in a statement reported by the BBC that the family was heartbroken but proud of his legacy.
Recovery work on Broad Peak remained under way in the latest reports, with officials stressing the risks of reaching the site.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.