10 climbers, including Nirmal Purja, missing after avalanche on Broad Peak in PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan

Ten international climbers, including renowned Nepal-born mountaineer Nirmal Purja have gone missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the avalanche hit the expedition around midday on Thursday on the 8,047-metre (26,400-foot) Broad Peak in the Karakoram range, the Associated Press reported.The missing team comprises five Nepalese climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and another foreign climber, the club said.The team has remained out of communication since the incident. However, a tracking device carried by Purja has continued to show movement, offering a glimmer of hope as rescuers race against time to reach the team.Speaking to Kantipur on Friday, Purja’s business partner and Nepal lawmaker Mingma Gyabu Sherpa said data from the mountaineer’s tracking device indicated that his location had changed after the avalanche.“Initially, it appeared that he had been swept downhill by the avalanche,” Sherpa was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post. “But after the point where the tracking had stopped, the location appears to have shifted again.”Sherpa cautioned that the tracking data could not confirm Purja’s condition but said it suggested some movement after the avalanche. He added that detailed information about the incident reached them only on Thursday evening, several hours after the avalanche struck.Poor weather has so far prevented helicopters from taking off, delaying aerial search-and-rescue operations. Sherpa said authorities were preparing to deploy helicopters on Friday morning if weather conditions improved.The club said it was working closely with government authorities to launch an immediate search-and-rescue operation. Its president, Maj Gen Irfan Arshad, and senior officials are coordinating efforts to mobilise helicopters and other rescue resources as soon as weather and operational conditions permit.

Who is Nirmal Purja?

Purja, also known as Nims Dai, is a Nepal-born British mountaineer and former Royal Marine. He joined the British Army in 2003 and became a Royal Marine in 2009.He rose to global prominence in 2019 after climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in just 189 days, setting a record at the time. His achievement was later featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” The record was surpassed in 2023 by a Norwegian climber and her Nepali Sherpa guide.Purja began his mountaineering career in 2012 after trekking to the Everest Base Camp. Instead of returning home as planned, he decided to climb Mount Everest, marking the start of his career as a high-altitude climber.