KATHMANDU — Rescue teams have located the bodies of climbers killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including prominent British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, as authorities worked to recover the remains from the high-altitude site, officials said.
The 8,047-metre Broad Peak, in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, was struck by an avalanche on July 30 while an international expedition was climbing the mountain. Ten climbers were reported missing after the avalanche, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Search teams initially recovered four bodies, with severe weather and difficult terrain hampering further operations. Rescue workers later located additional bodies, and Purja's death was subsequently confirmed by the Alpine Club and his expedition company.
Purja, widely known as Nims, became internationally recognised after climbing all 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres in a record time in 2019. He was also a former soldier in Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas and Special Boat Service.
The expedition included climbers and mountaineers from several countries. Among those confirmed dead were Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Nepali climbers Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa and Pur Bahadur Gurung, alongside Omani, American and Pakistani members of the expedition, according to reports citing Pakistani climbing authorities.
Rescue operations were complicated by snowfall, avalanches and unstable mountain conditions. Helicopters were at times unable to operate, forcing ground teams to search on foot and making the recovery of bodies hazardous.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed condolences to the victims' families and praised military and civilian rescue personnel involved in the operation, according to the Associated Press.
The disaster has drawn attention across Nepal's mountaineering community because of Purja's prominence and the number of Nepali climbers involved. Broad Peak is one of the world's 14 highest mountains and lies near the Pakistan-China border in the Karakoram range.
By the latest confirmed reports, rescuers had located the bodies of all 10 climbers involved in the avalanche, although recovery and evacuation operations remained dependent on weather and mountain conditions.
