Skardu, August 2, 2026: Rescue teams have recovered the body of celebrated British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja, who was killed along with nine members of his expedition in a devastating avalanche on Broad Peak, the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed on Sunday.
In a statement shared on social media, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said the ground rescue team reached Purja’s body at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres on Broad Peak.
“The ground rescue team has reached Nims Dai (Purja) at approximately 5,700m on Broad Peak — a mountain he loved, and a mountain that has now taken him from us,” the club said.
Alpine Club of Pakistan General Secretary Ayaz Shigri later confirmed that the bodies of Purja and three other climbers had been recovered during a high-altitude rescue operation, which has been hampered by adverse weather conditions.
The avalanche struck on Thursday while the 10-member international expedition, led by the 43-year-old climber, was attempting to summit Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. Contact with the team was lost immediately after the avalanche.
Purja’s expedition company confirmed on Saturday that none of the climbers had survived the tragedy.
Authorities said the remains of three climbers — an Omani woman, a Nepali man and an American woman — had earlier been recovered and airlifted to Skardu on Friday.
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the expedition also included a Chinese national and several other Nepali climbers.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the global mountaineering community, particularly in Nepal, where Purja was regarded as one of the country’s greatest climbers. Tributes and condolences have poured in from around the world, including from Britain’s Prince William, who expressed sympathy with the families of the victims.
Purja earned international acclaim in 2019 after setting a world record by climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres in just over six months, a feat later documented in the widely acclaimed Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.
