Popular Nepalese-British climber Nirmal Purja 'declared dead' after avalanche hit Pakistan’s Broad Peak

Disaster struck Pakistan’s Broad Peak as the mountain was engulfed in a major avalanche trapping a team of 11 climbers including the world-famous Nepalese-British climber Nirmal Purja. The avalanche struck on July 30 and since then a major rescue operation has been launched to search for the 11 climbers. In fact, four bodies were recovered and some identified by July 30 and as of Aug 1 5: 30 pm Nirmal Purja has been 'declared dead'. However, the search is on for the rest of the climbers through trackers, drones and an experienced rescue team.   

Who was Nirmal Purja?

For the unversed, Nirmal Purja or Nims as he was popularly known was a high-altitude climber/mountaineer. He had served with the United Kingdom Special Boat Service, and became famous after his mountain summit in the Himalayas which re-invented what the human body can actually do while dealing with such high temperatures and extreme conditions. Purja’s venture into serious mountaineering started only in 2012. Since then he had made some major accomplishments including climbing all 14 mountains above 8000 metres in just 6 months and 6 days, and the Seven Summits, without extra oxygen, making a world record. He was also the leader of the First winter ascent of K2 in 2021. Such was his popularity that his 2019 expedition was turned into a Netflix documentary called 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. He had to his title the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2018. Apart from his personal achievements, he was also an entrepreneur. Through Elite Exped he leads teams to major mountain peaks.

The news of his tragic passing was posted from the social media handle of his entrepreneurship venture confirming that the much-loved mountaineer is no more. He passed away amidst the mountains, doing what he loved to do the most.

Purja’s last post on X (formerly Twitter) was made four days ago. Excerpts from his post mention, “Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted. Not one. The moment my foot leaves basecamp its 100%. Always has been. Always will be.”

Among the other bodies discovered, three were identified as Pur Bahadur Gurung from Nepal; Nadhira Alharthy from Oman; and Mallory Geis from the United States, while one is yet to be publicly identified. Apart from Purja other climbers included Nepali and Pakistani Nationals and a Chinese National Wang Zhong.

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