Climber Nirmal Purja Confirmed Dead on Broad Peak
Nirmal Purja, one of the world’s most celebrated mountaineers, has been confirmed dead after an avalanche struck his expedition on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, his climbing company said. At least six of the ten-member team were swept away, and rescuers recovered several bodies as the search for the others resumed. Purja, a British-Nepali former Gurkha, was renowned for scaling the world’s fourteen highest peaks in record time.
Purja’s death robs mountaineering of one of its most charismatic figures, a climber whose feats were chronicled in a Netflix film and who had a vast following. The avalanche swept the group high on Broad Peak, which rises above 8,000 metres in the Karakoram, where rescue is slow and perilous. The expedition brought together climbers from several countries, among them Nepali, Omani, American and Chinese mountaineers and a Pakistani guide. The mountains of northern Pakistan claim lives most summers, but rarely one so widely known. Watch for confirmation of the full toll.