A devastating avalanche on Pakistan’s remote Broad Peak has claimed the lives of 10 climbers, including world-famous Nepali-born mountaineer Nirmal Purja, whose groundbreaking high-altitude achievements were catapulted to global attention by a hit 2021 Netflix documentary. The tragedy was officially confirmed by Purja’s mountaineering guiding company, Elite Expeditions, which announced the heartbreaking news in a social media post Thursday, expressing profound grief over the loss of the entire expedition team.
Purja, 43, a former British Special Boat Service soldier who redefined high-altitude mountaineering limits in 2019 by climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter-plus peaks in just six months and six days — a record that stood as a testament to human endurance — was leading the multinational expedition when the avalanche struck the 8,047-meter (26,400-foot) Karakoram range peak, one of the most challenging and dangerous summits on Earth.
Prior to the official confirmation of Purja’s death, Pakistani rescue authorities had already recovered the bodies of three members of the 10-person team: American climber Mallory Geis, Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy, and Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung. Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah later issued an official statement confirming the total fatality count, which includes six Nepali climbers and four foreign nationals, and expressed the nation’s shock over the accident. “The tragic death of six Nepalese and four other foreign climbers, including world record holder Nirmal Purja, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan, has shocked us,” Shah wrote on social media, adding that “the history of their courage, dedication, and contributions will always remain inspiring.”
Pakistani rescue teams had launched an urgent search and recovery operation immediately after the avalanche was reported, navigating harsh, high-altitude conditions to reach the disaster site on the world’s 12th highest mountain. Broad Peak has long held a reputation as one of mountaineering’s most dangerous tests: while the first successful ascent was completed by an Austrian expedition in 1957, dozens of climbers have lost their lives on its slopes in the decades since. One of its deadliest seasons on record was 2013, when at least six climbers died in separate incidents on the peak.
Purja, who joined the British Army in 2003 before moving to the elite Royal Navy Special Boat Service in 2009, became a household name globally after Netflix released *14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible*, the 2021 documentary that chronicled his history-making 2019 expedition to scale all 14 of the world’s highest peaks. The documentary introduced his extraordinary story of endurance to millions, cementing his legacy as one of the most iconic mountaineers of the 21st century.
This is an ongoing breaking news story, and updates with additional details are expected to be released as more information becomes available from rescue officials and expedition authorities.