ISLAMABAD — Celebrated British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and nine fellow climbers caught in a deadly avalanche in Pakistan have been confirmed dead, according to Purja’s expedition company, as rescue crews continued efforts Saturday to retrieve the victims’ bodies.
Elite Exped, the company linked to Purja, described the tragedy as a devastating blow to the climbing world. “The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” it said in a statement, while also honoring all those killed in the disaster. “No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss.”
The group of 10 mountaineers was struck by an avalanche Thursday while on Broad Peak, one of Pakistan’s towering Karakoram mountains and a major destination for high-altitude climbers.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
Search teams located four bodies on Friday and were able to bring down three, but dangerous weather conditions complicated the mission and limited helicopter operations. Military-backed rescue helicopters returned to the area Saturday as teams resumed the search for the remaining climbers.
Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, called the deaths a profound loss for the international mountaineering community. He said the climbers, who came from several countries, were connected by their shared devotion to the mountains.
Khan also acknowledged the military personnel, civilian rescuers and sherpas involved in the dangerous recovery effort. “The mountains inspire us with their beauty, but they also remind us of the immense risks faced by those who venture into the high Himalaya and Karakoram,” he said.
Earlier Saturday, local police official Tahir Khan said the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed were being transported to Islamabad. The bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung were still at a hospital in Skardu, the main city in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
China’s embassy in Pakistan said a Chinese mountaineer also was among the missing after the avalanche, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
The expedition was led by Purja, the Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai. He climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.
Purja’s company described him as “a leader who inspired millions through his courage, humility and unwavering belief that human potential is far greater than we often imagine.”
A statement from Geis’ family said “Mallory was a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends. She will be profoundly missed.”
The expedition was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be the final one for Sakhi, who was a guide for Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan. Sakhi also was a geographer and high-altitude photographer who has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to the Moving Mountains website.
Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude and rapidly changing weather.
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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed.
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