Rescuers Find Body Of Renowned Mountaineer Nirmal Purja On Pakistan Broad Peak
An avalanche struck a team of climbers on Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, July 30, 2026, catching ten mountaineers between Camp II and Camp III on the standard West Ridge route. Among those caught was Nirmal “Nims” Purja, the Nepali mountaineer leading an Elite Exped team on the 8,051m (26,414ft) peak. By August 1, the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Elite Exped had confirmed several deaths, while search and rescue work on the mountain, known locally as Falchan Kangri, continued.
What happened
The avalanche struck at roughly 6,579 to 6,660 metres (21,585 to 21,850 feet) ExplorersWeb Desnivel Climbing. Sources differ on timing: ExplorersWeb cited around midday or 9:20am, Alpinist Magazine said shortly before noon, Desnivel reported 9:30am local time, and Climbing gave a range between 8:57am and 9:30am Alpinist Magazine. GPS trackers carried by the climbers showed them stop ascending around 9:30am Pakistan time before falling several hundred metres. Four teams were on the mountain: a group led by guide Sohail Sakhi with client Mallory Geis, Purja’s Elite Exped team, an Imagine Nepal team, and a group from Seven Summit Treks. According to Imagine Nepal, the climbers had reached Camp 2 on Wednesday, planned to move to Camp 3 on Thursday, and intended a summit push on Friday. Imagine Nepal’s team leader, Mingma G, was not on Broad Peak at the time, as he was climbing on K2.
The people involved
Ten climbers were caught in total ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Desnivel Climbing. Besides Purja, those named included Sakhi, a Pakistani guide from the Hunza Valley; Geis, an American client from San Antonio, Texas; Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman; Wang Zhong of China; and five Nepali climbers — Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nawang Thendu Sherpa, and Kili Pemba Sherpa. Purja was accompanied by guides Gurung and Nima Sherpa. Al Harthy had become the first Omani woman to summit Everest in 2019 and had also climbed K2, Nanga Parbat, Manaslu and Ama Dablam. Climbing reported that Wang Zhong had reached his 11th 8,000m peak on July 4, 2026, alongside Purja on Gasherbrum II, with Broad Peak set to be his 13th. Gurung, an IMFGA-certified guide from Luprak, Nepal, had worked for Elite Exped since 2022 and had climbed 8,000m peaks 28 times. Kili Pemba Sherpa, a lead guide for Imagine Nepal, had completed all fourteen of the world’s 8,000m peaks, finishing on Nanga Parbat on July 3, 2026. Sakhi held a mathematics degree from Quaid-e-Azam University and worked as a mountain photographer and drone pilot alongside guiding.
The response
The Alpine Club of Pakistan issued a press release confirming the avalanche, with its president, Major General Irfan Arshad, saying the organisation was coordinating with government authorities to mobilise rescue efforts, including helicopter support ExplorersWeb. Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan told ExplorersWeb that the alarm was not raised until 10pm, nearly 13 hours after the avalanche, and said “we are all shocked”. ExplorersWeb reported this delay meant helicopters could not reach the mountain before dark that day. Two helicopters carrying rescuers and oxygen were scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on Friday, July 31. Karakorum Expeditions reported recovering four bodies at the base of the avalanche on the morning of July 31, two identified as Al Harthy and Gurung, Desnivel reported Desnivel. A press release from the Commissioner of Baltistan the same day stated three bodies had been recovered, naming Gurung, Al Harthy, and Geis Climbing. Climbing later reported four further bodies — Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, and Kili Pemba Sherpa — were recovered and taken to Camp 1 at 5,600 metres (18,373 feet). One body was spotted higher on the mountain but not recovered owing to the risk, and an amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the climbers, was also recovered, according to Climbing. Strong winds since the day of the avalanche complicated search efforts, Desnivel reported, and Climbing said operations were due to resume on August 1 once weather improved. On August 1, Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram the deaths of Purja and Nima Sherpa, saying it had received confirmation other members of the expedition had not survived. Irfan Arshad Khan responded to that post, asking Elite Exped to stop sharing such information until rescuers had physically reached the victims.
Background and context
Broad Peak, 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) in the Karakoram, is known locally as Falchan Kangri, a Balti name meaning “broad peak” Climbing. Purja had said Broad Peak was a late addition to his plans, having originally intended to climb only Gasherbrum II on this trip ExplorersWeb. Elite Exped said his main objective had been continuing his “Hat-Trick Project” for the Nimsdai Foundation, with Broad Peak marking his 13th summit toward completing all fourteen 8,000m peaks for a second time without supplemental oxygen, leaving only Cho Oyu, 8,188 metres (26,864 feet) in Tibet. Purja wrote that finishing Broad Peak would leave him needing only Cho Oyu to become, in his words, the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen. He completed his first round with some supplemental oxygen in six months, documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,” and his second, without supplemental oxygen, on October 4, 2024, after two years and 150 days. In January 2021 he was among ten Nepali alpinists on the first successful winter ascent of K2. Climbing reported Purja summited 8,000m peaks 57 times during his life, including 29 without supplemental oxygen, and that less than a week before the avalanche he had posted on Instagram about reaching the summit of Gasherbrum II, calling it his 57th 8,000m summit. Climbing also reported that, following his documentary’s release, two women accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature, and a 2025 podcast series by reporter Poppy Damon questioned some of those allegations. News of the avalanche was first reported by Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped, according to Alpinist Magazine and Desnivel Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. Fundraisers were launched for several guides’ families, including one by Chris Lininger for Sakhi’s mother and brother, one by Little Monsters Films for Gurung’s wife and son, one for Kili Pemba Sherpa’s wife, Tashi Lhamu Sherpa, and one by the Juniper Fund for six Nepali and Pakistani guides lost in the avalanche.
What is not yet confirmed
It remains unclear precisely how many of the ten climbers died, with outlets citing different numbers and identities of recovered bodies at different points ExplorersWeb Desnivel Climbing. The identity and condition of the climber spotted higher on the mountain, whose body was not recovered because of the risk, had not been established. The reason for the roughly 13-hour delay before the alarm was raised, which Kiani described as shocking, had not been explained. Whether Purja’s GPS track, which Elite Exped said appeared to show movement after the avalanche, indicated he survived the initial impact had not been confirmed. The fate of Sakhi, Geis, Nawang Thendu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa remained unresolved pending further search efforts once weather allowed. Whether operations after August 1 would recover further bodies or locate survivors had not yet been determined.
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
- Who Were the 10 Climbers Caught in the Broad Peak Avalanche? — Climbing
Written by Andoram by combining 4 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.
Coverage timeline
- Rescuers Find Body Of Renowned Mountaineer Nirmal Purja On Pakistan Broad Peak — Sarawak Tribune, 2 Aug 2026, 18:00 UTC
- Rescuers find Nirmal Purja's body; all 10 climbers confirmed dead after avalanche on Broad Peak in PoK — The Times of India, 2 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- Rescuers find body of renowned mountaineer Purja on Pakistan peak — The Malaysian Reserve, 2 Aug 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 23 Aug 2026 03:45 UTC.
