Veteran Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja dies in avalanche on Broad Peak in PoK: Report
An avalanche struck a group of climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m / 26,401ft) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, leaving ten people initially unaccounted for, including Nepali climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja. By Friday, four bodies had been recovered and six climbers, among them Purja, remained missing, according to Desnivel Desnivel.
What happened
The climbers were making their way up Broad Peak’s normal route when the slope gave way beneath them, according to all three outlets ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. Accounts differ on the precise timing: the Alpine Club of Pakistan told ExplorersWeb the avalanche occurred around midday local time, while Alpinist reported it happened shortly before noon. ExplorersWeb separately cited a time of around 9:20am local time on the Thursday, and Desnivel put it at 9:30am local time on Thursday, July 30. ExplorersWeb noted that some reports suggested there may have been two avalanches rather than a single event. The slide struck at an elevation of roughly 6,600 to 6,660 metres (about 21,650 to 21,850 feet), in the stretch of the route between Camp 2 and Camp 3.
GPS trackers carried by several of the missing climbers offered an early picture of what followed. Alpinist reported that the devices showed the climbers becoming stationary above 7,800 metres (25,590 feet) after the avalanche hit Alpinist Magazine. ExplorersWeb’s reading of the tracker data indicated that the climbers had stopped ascending at around 9:30am Pakistan time and then fell several hundred metres ExplorersWeb. Desnivel, citing Elite Exped, reported that Purja’s own GPS track appeared to continue showing movement for some time after the avalanche Desnivel.
The people involved
Nirmal Purja was leading a team for Elite Exped, the expedition company he co-founded ExplorersWeb Desnivel. Also caught in the avalanche was Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, also spelled Sohail Saki, from Hunza, along with his client, American climber Mallory Geiss, whose name has also appeared in reporting as Mallory Weis and Mallory Geis. The group included Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, referred to as “Nathira” in the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s own statement, and Chinese climber Wang Zhong, called “Mr. Wang” in that same statement.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan’s statement described five Nepalese climbers under Purja’s leadership among those caught in the slide ExplorersWeb. Desnivel named them as Yukta Gurung, also referred to as Pur Bahadur “Yurta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nwang Thendou Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa Desnivel, with Pur Bahadur “Yurta” Gurung identified as one of the Sherpas working with Elite Exped. ExplorersWeb reported that four teams were on the mountain at the time of the avalanche: Sohail Sakhi with his client Mallory Weis, Purja’s Elite Exped team, a group from Imagine Nepal, and a party from Seven Summit Treks. The Imagine Nepal team was reportedly climbing without its leader, Mingma G, who was on K2 at the time. According to Imagine Nepal, the climbers had reached Camp 2 on Wednesday, July 29, with plans to move to Camp 3 on Thursday and push for the summit on Friday after a short break.
Nadhira Al Harthy was among the four bodies recovered, alongside Pur Bahadur “Yurta” Gurung, according to Desnivel Desnivel. Desnivel described Al Harthy as a high-altitude climber with a notable record: she was reported to be the first Omani woman to summit Everest, in 2019, and K2, in 2022, and the first Omani person to summit Nanga Parbat, in 2024, having also summited Manaslu and Ama Dablam.
The response
News of the avalanche first circulated through Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and by Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan said the organisation only learned of the avalanche at 10pm, nearly thirteen hours after it had occurred, and that the delay meant the entire day was lost — time during which, she said, a prompt response might have allowed helicopters to reach the site before dark ExplorersWeb. Kiani said everyone involved was shocked by what had happened.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said its President, Major General Irfan Arshad, together with senior club leadership, remained in constant contact with government authorities and relevant agencies to organise search and rescue efforts ExplorersWeb. The club said it was mobilising helicopter support and rescue resources as quickly as possible, subject to weather and operational conditions, and that it was coordinating with stakeholders while expressing solidarity with the climbers’ families. Two helicopters were scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on the Friday, carrying rescuers and oxygen. Karakorum Expeditions reported that the four bodies were recovered on the morning of Friday, July 31 Desnivel. Desnivel reported that search efforts for the remaining missing climbers were continuing under difficult conditions, hampered by high altitude and strong winds that had been blowing since the day of the avalanche.
Background
Broad Peak is described by ExplorersWeb and Desnivel as the world’s twelfth-highest mountain ExplorersWeb Desnivel, and by Alpinist as one of the Karakoram’s five peaks exceeding 8,000 metres Alpinist Magazine. ExplorersWeb reported that Purja had described his decision to climb Broad Peak as a last-minute one, made just before departing for Pakistan, with his original plan having been to climb only Gasherbrum II. Purja had stated that, were he to climb Broad Peak, only Cho Oyu would remain for him to complete all fourteen eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen, which he said would make him the first person in history to do so.
What is not yet confirmed
The exact number and timing of the avalanche or avalanches has not been settled, with outlets giving different hours and ExplorersWeb noting the possibility of two separate slides ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. The fate of the six climbers still listed as missing, including Purja, had not been confirmed at the time of reporting. The precise spellings of several climbers’ names, including Sohail Sakhi/Saki, Mallory Geiss/Weis/Geis, and Yukta Gurung/Pur Bahadur “Yurta” Gurung, remain inconsistent across reports. It is also not clear from the available reporting what caused the rescue notification delay cited by Naila Kiani, nor what the outcome of the helicopter operation scheduled for Friday was.
Sources referenced
- Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on Broad Peak — ExplorersWeb
- AVALANCHE: TEN CLIMBERS, INCLUDING NIRMAL PURJA, MISSING ON BROAD PEAK — Alpinist Magazine
- Avalancha en el Broad Peak: cuatro personas fallecidas y seis desaparecidas, entre ellas Nirmal Purja — Desnivel
Written by Andoram by combining 3 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.
Coverage timeline
- The Nirmal Purja story: Face of Nepalese mountaineering who leaves behind a contested legacy — ThePrint, 3 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- Veteran Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja dies in avalanche on Broad Peak in PoK: Report — Deccan Herald, 1 Aug 2026, 14:27 UTC
- 10 climbers led by a renowned Nepalese mountaineer are missing on a Pakistan peak — The New Indian Express, 31 Jul 2026, 07:00 UTC
This page is an automatically compiled index of third-party reporting. Headlines and links belong to their publishers; Andoram reproduces no article text. Last compiled 21 Aug 2026 16:15 UTC.
