Ten international mountaineers, including celebrated Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, are feared missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in northern Pakistan on Thursday around midday. The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) confirmed that the team has been out of communication since the incident and that search and rescue operations are underway, with helicopter support dispatched as weather conditions allow.
Broad Peak, standing at 8,047 metres (26,400 feet), is the 12th-highest mountain in the world and lies in the Karakoram range in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region — a stretch of mountains in the far north of the country that is home to some of the world's most demanding high-altitude climbs. The missing team includes six Nepali climbers, a Pakistani, an American, an Omani and a Chinese national. Those identified include Purja himself, fellow Nepali climbers Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa, as well as Pakistani high-altitude climber Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman, Wang Zhong from China and Mallory Geis from the United States. ACP's General Secretary Ayaz Shigri said GPS data received from some of the climbers suggested the avalanche had swept the group roughly 1,000 metres downhill, leaving them trapped. There are also concerns that local high-altitude porters may have been affected.
Two Pakistan Army Aviation rescue helicopters carrying rescue personnel and specialised equipment have been dispatched to the area. Gilgit-Baltistan's Chief Minister Amjad Hussain Advocate has directed all relevant departments to coordinate with the Pakistan Army and keep aerial and ground teams on standby, urging that rescue efforts begin the moment weather permits. The ACP said it is in contact with the highest government authorities to facilitate the operation.
Purja, 43, widely known by his nickname Nims Dai, is one of the most prominent mountaineers of his generation. After serving with Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas and later the Special Boat Service of the Royal Marines, he turned to full-time mountaineering in 2018. In 2019, he climbed all 14 of the world's peaks above 8,000 metres in just six months and six days — a world record at the time. In 2021, he led the first-ever winter ascent of K2 alongside nine other Nepali climbers. Pakistani climber Sakhi was also highly regarded; he had recently summited Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, and had previously scaled K2 and several other 8,000-metre peaks without supplemental oxygen.
The incident is being described as a major emergency by Pakistani mountaineering authorities. "We pray for the safety of all the climbers. It is a big incident," Shigri said. The ACP expressed solidarity with the climbers' families and the wider international mountaineering community as rescue teams race against difficult conditions to locate those missing.