Renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja among 11 climbers killed in Broad Peak avalanche

A world-renowned Nepali mountaineer and former UK Special Forces member has died after being among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.

Nirmal Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people on the world’s 12th-highest mountain when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday.

Elite Exped, the company Purja co-founded, said in a statement: “Today it is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak.”

“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive,” it said, without further detail.

Purja made history in 2019 after climbing all 14 of the world’s peaks over 8,000 metres in just over six months. He later led the first team to summit K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in winter.

“Records are made to be broken,” the former Gurkha and UKSF member told the Guardian in 2019. “Someone one day will come along and be stronger. People are only limited by their imagination. If you don’t dream, then you won’t do it. Human beings are capable of doing amazing things.”

The expedition included five Nepali climbers, as well as US, Pakistani, Omani and Chinese nationals. Another foreign climber was also part of the group, said Karrar Haidri, the vice-president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

Elite Exped also confirmed the deaths of other expedition members, including his climbing partners and guides, Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta), a Nepali citizen, and Nima Sherpa.

“Our deepest thoughts, prayers and heartfelt condolences are with their families, friends and loved ones,” the Elite Exped statement said. “No words can erase the pain of this unimaginable loss, and we ask that everyone respects their privacy as they grieve.”

On Friday, rescuers had said that four bodies had been found and efforts were under way to retrieve them despite the harsh weather. Among the victims were Nadhira Alharthy, the first Omani to climb Everest, and a US climber, Mallory Geis.

Trackers carried by the climbers showed a rapid loss of altitude, suggesting the team had been caught in an avalanche. Purja’s tracker, however, shifted location after the initial rapid descent. The GPS data suggested the avalanche occurred close to 9am local time at 6,579 metres (21,585ft), between camps two and three on the west ridge of the 8,047-metre mountain, the most popular ascent route.

The British adventurer Bear Grylls said the news of Purja’s death was “heartbreaking for so many climbers around the world who had a relationship with this remarkable and unique man”.

In the 2023 documentary Finding Michael, Purja and Grylls were enlisted to recover the body of Michael Matthews, the youngest Briton to climb Everest, who disappeared on the mountain in 1999.

Purja served in the British military for 16 years, 10 of them in the special forces. In 2018, he was awarded an MBE by the queen for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.

He also drew plaudits for twice risking his life to help others. The first time was while descending from Annapurna, when he led a rescue of fellow climber Chin Wui Kin, who had been separated from an accompanying expedition and left without food, water or oxygen for 40 hours. He later died in hospital.

Less than a month later, Purja and his team rescued two climbers from a height of 8,400 metres, sacrificing their own supplementary oxygen to the climbers in need.

“For me it’s not about ego,” he previously told the Guardian. “It’s about principles. You can’t call yourself a climber and not help in that situation.”