Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on Broad Peak
An avalanche struck Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, leaving ten climbers unaccounted for, including mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine. The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed the incident and said efforts to reach the missing climbers had so far failed, with no contact established since the slide occurred.
What happened
Accounts of the exact timing of the avalanche differ. ExplorersWeb reported that the Alpine Club of Pakistan initially placed the event around midday, while later reporting cited by the same outlet put it closer to 9:20 am on Thursday ExplorersWeb. Alpinist Magazine stated that the avalanche struck shortly before noon, local time, on Thursday Alpinist Magazine. ExplorersWeb also noted that some sources describe two separate avalanches rather than one. Climbers’ GPS trackers showed the group halting its ascent at around 9:30 am Pakistan time before falling several hundred metres, according to ExplorersWeb. The slide appears to have struck the party between Camp 2 and Camp 3, at an altitude of roughly 6,660 metres (21,851 feet). Alpinist Magazine added that the trackers of several missing climbers had gone stationary above 7,800 metres (25,591 feet), a position they had not moved from since the avalanche.
The people involved
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s initial information, as reported by ExplorersWeb, the expedition numbered ten climbers ExplorersWeb. These included five Nepalese mountaineers led by Purja, one Pakistani climber, Sohail Sakhi of Hunza, an Omani mountaineer named Nathira, an American climber identified as Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber referred to as Mr. Wang, and one further unnamed foreign climber. ExplorersWeb’s own reporting rendered the American climber’s name inconsistently, at times as Mallory Geiss and elsewhere as Mallory Weis, while the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s press release used the spelling Mallory Geis. Sakhi was reported to have been guiding this climber. Purja was described as heading the EliteExped team on the mountain. Mingma David Sherpa, identified as co-founder of Elite Exped, was among those who confirmed the news, according to Alpinist Magazine Alpinist Magazine. ExplorersWeb reported that four separate teams were present on Broad Peak at the time: Sakhi’s group with his client, Purja’s EliteExped team, an Imagine Nepal expedition, and a group from Seven Summit Treks. The Imagine Nepal team’s leader, Mingma G, was not on Broad Peak at the time, having travelled to K2 instead.
The response
Alpinist Magazine reported that the news first emerged through Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and by Mingma David Sherpa Alpinist Magazine. The Alpine Club of Pakistan subsequently issued an official press release, stating that the entire team remained out of communication following the avalanche ExplorersWeb. Major General Irfan Arshad, President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, along with senior club leadership, was reported to be in constant contact with government authorities and relevant agencies to facilitate a search and rescue operation. The club said it was working to mobilise helicopter support and rescue resources, though this remained subject to weather and operational conditions, and that it was continuing to monitor the situation and coordinate with stakeholders. It also offered prayers for the climbers’ safety and expressed solidarity with their families and the wider mountaineering community. ExplorersWeb reported that no alarm was raised until almost thirteen hours after the avalanche occurred, despite the presence of staff at Base Camp for the teams involved. Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan told ExplorersWeb that the club only learned of the incident at 10 pm, adding, “we are all shocked”. ExplorersWeb noted that this delay meant a window during which helicopters might have reached the site before nightfall was lost. Two helicopters were reported to be scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on Friday, carrying rescuers and oxygen supplies.
Background and context
Broad Peak stands at 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) in the Karakoram range of Pakistan, and ExplorersWeb described it as the world’s 12th-highest mountain ExplorersWeb. Alpinist Magazine noted that it is one of the Karakoram’s five peaks exceeding 8,000 metres Alpinist Magazine. According to ExplorersWeb, Purja had posted on social media that his decision to climb Broad Peak was made at short notice, with his original plan limited to Gasherbrum II. Purja stated that, before leaving for Pakistan, he had calculated that adding Broad Peak to his itinerary would leave only Cho Oyu remaining among the fourteen peaks above 8,000 metres. He further stated that completing Cho Oyu afterward would make him the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders twice without the use of supplemental oxygen, according to his own social media remarks reported by ExplorersWeb. Imagine Nepal’s account, cited by ExplorersWeb, indicated that the affected climbers had reached Camp 2 on Wednesday, with plans to move to Camp 3 on Thursday and continue toward the summit on Friday following a short rest.
What is not yet confirmed
The precise timing of the avalanche remains unsettled, with ExplorersWeb citing both a midday estimate from the Alpine Club of Pakistan and a later account placing the event around 9:20 am, while Alpinist Magazine’s figure of shortly before noon sits between the two ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine. Whether the mountain was struck by one avalanche or two has not been resolved, as ExplorersWeb noted that some sources report a second slide. The spelling of the American climber’s name varies across ExplorersWeb’s own reporting and the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s press release, and it is not clear which version is correct. The condition and whereabouts of the ten missing climbers remain unknown, with trackers for several showing no movement from positions above 7,800 metres since the avalanche, according to Alpinist Magazine. The cause of the near thirteen-hour delay before the Alpine Club of Pakistan was alerted has not been explained. The outcome of the helicopter missions planned for Friday, and whether search and rescue teams were able to reach the site, had not been reported at the time of these accounts.
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
Written by Andoram by combining 2 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.
Coverage timeline
- Pakistan Finds Four Bodies After Broad Peak Avalanche, Nirmal Purja Still Missing — Tempo.co English, 3 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- AVALANCHE: TEN CLIMBERS, INCLUDING NIRMAL PURJA, MISSING ON BROAD PEAK — Alpinist Magazine, 30 Jul 2026, 22:05 UTC
- Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on Broad Peak — ExplorersWeb, 30 Jul 2026, 20:27 UTC
- Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on Broad Peak — ExplorersWeb, 30 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 22 Aug 2026 03:45 UTC.
