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Avalanche on Broad Peak
Nirmal Purja, the British-Nepali mountaineer, died in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan on Thursday, July 30, his company Elite Expeditions confirmed, saying he was 43 and that other members of the expedition “sadly did not survive.”
“Nirmal Purja, tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak”
DW reported that Purja and nine other mountaineers were confirmed dead after an avalanche struck the 10-member expedition at around 6,600 meters on Broad Peak, and that rescuers had located four bodies while searching for the 10-member expedition.
The avalanche left the climbers missing since Thursday, and DW said two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters joined the operation on Friday while an experienced ground team was deployed to the area where the group was last believed to have been.
Al Jazeera said Purja was leading the group of 10 climbers on the 8,051-metre Broad Peak in northern Pakistan when an avalanche struck on Thursday and the group was reported missing, and it added that the deaths were confirmed after bodies were recovered.
CNN said Purja was among 10 mountaineers who went missing on Thursday after they were believed to have been on 8,047-meter-tall Broad Peak when a landslide hit around midday local time, and it reported that recovery efforts for the six remaining climbers were ongoing.
Identities, condolences, rescue
Elite Exped, Purja’s company, said in a statement that “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,” while Al Jazeera said the company also confirmed that other members “sadly did not survive.”
The Guardian reported that the British adventurer Bear Grylls called the news “heartbreaking for so many climbers around the world who had a relationship with this remarkable and unique man,” and it said the GPS data suggested the avalanche occurred close to 9am local time at 6,579 metres between camps two and three on the west ridge of the 8,047-metre mountain.
CBS News said local police official Tahir Khan stated that the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed were being flown to Islamabad, while the bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung remained at a hospital in Skardu.
Al Jazeera reported that the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government identified three recovered bodies as Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, and American climber Mallory Geis, and it said Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah offered condolences over the “shocked us” deaths, and CNN quoted a Pakistan Alpine Club spokesperson, Naila Kiani, warning that “our rescue team has to be very careful to assess whether they are endangering their lives.”
Aftermath and what’s at risk
Outside Magazine said rescue efforts were underway but were “not expected to reach the mountain until Friday morning local time,” after an avalanche struck Broad Peak around midday on Thursday, July 30, leaving ten climbers missing including Nirmal “Nims” Purja.
“not expected to reach the mountain until Friday morning local time”
The Guardian described the expedition as being on the world’s 12th-highest mountain, and it said Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday, with Elite Exped confirming deaths of other expedition members including Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta) and Nima Sherpa.
Al Jazeera said Broad Peak is in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region and described the search area as “remote and difficult,” while it reported that Sajid Hussain, deputy director of the tourism department in Gilgit-Baltistan, said the area was remote and difficult.
Euronews reported that the avalanche struck while the mountaineers were on a mission to summit Broad Peak 8,047 metres on Thursday and while the team was ascending at an altitude of around 6,600 metres, and it said the expedition comprised 10 people including Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a climber from China.
The Independent Arabic said bodies were spotted by drones but had not yet been recovered due to the site’s inaccessibility, and it quoted Sajid Hussain saying that lifting the bodies from the mountain is “extremely difficult” and requires rescuers to ascend to the site.
