Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's Body Recovered Days After Broad Peak Avalanche Claimed His Life
Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's Body Recovered Days After Broad Peak Avalanche Claimed His Life Published By, Last Updated: August 02, 2026, 18:00 IST Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's
Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's Body Recovered Days After Broad Peak Avalanche Claimed His Life Published By, Last Updated: August 02, 2026, 18:00 IST Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's body was recovered after a Broad Peak avalanche claimed 10 lives in northern Pakistan. Rapid Read Body of Mountaineer Nirmal Purja Recovered Days After Avalanche Claimed His Life. Rescuers on Sunday recovered the body of mountaineer Nirmal “Nims" Purja, days after a devastating avalanche swept through an international expedition on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, killing him and nine other climbers. The recovery marks the end of an intensive multi-day search operation in one of the world’s most dangerous high-altitude terrains. The avalanche struck on Thursday between Camps II and III on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, cutting off communication with the expedition led by the 43-year-old British-Nepali climber. Rescue efforts by air and ground were repeatedly hampered by harsh weather, deep snow and the mountain’s hazardous terrain. Rescue Teams Recover Bodies Amid Dangerous Conditions The Alpine Club of Pakistan said a ground rescue team reached Purja’s body at an altitude of about 5,700 metres.
The club also confirmed that another body had been located at a much higher elevation, but warned that the terrain made further recovery attempts unlikely at this stage. According to the club, four bodies including those of Purja, two Nepali climbers and a Chinese national were being brought down from the mountain. Earlier, authorities had recovered and airlifted the bodies of an Omani woman, a Nepali man and an American woman to Skardu. Purja’s expedition company confirmed on Saturday that none of the expedition members had survived the avalanche. A Mountaineering Icon Remembered Purja, popularly known as “Nims Dai", was widely regarded as one of the greatest high-altitude climbers of his generation. A former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service, he rose to global fame after summiting all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in just over six months in 2019 a feat documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.
Before the expedition, Purja had written on X that he was attempting to become the first climber to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplementary oxygen. “Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down," he wrote. Global Tributes Pour In The tragedy has triggered an outpouring of grief across the international mountaineering community. Britain’s Prince William said he was “truly saddened" by the loss of life, describing Purja as a mountaineer who “served with distinction in the British Armed Forces before becoming one of the world’s greatest mountaineers, putting Nepalese climbers on the map." Nepal Mountaineering Association President Fur Gelje Sherpa called the incident “an unthinkable loss" for both the mountaineering community and Nepal, saying Purja had worked tirelessly to raise Nepal’s profile in global mountaineering. Fellow climber Mingma G Sherpa also paid tribute, promising to bring the victims home to their families. Broad Peak’s Deadly Reputation Standing at 8,047 metres (26,400 feet) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, Broad Peak is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is considered one of the most technically demanding of the 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.
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