Renowned Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja among 10 missing on Pakistan peak

Nirmal Purja, one of the world's most celebrated climbers, is feared missing after an avalanche struck Pakistan's Broad Peak - the world's 12th-highest mountain.Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal PurjaRenowned Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, a former British Special Forces member, is among 10 climbers feared missing following an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak - the world's 12th-highest mountain. Popularly known as 'Nims Dai', Purja was leading an expedition team to scale the 8,047-metre (26,400 ft) peak when the avalanche struck in the Karakoram mountain range.According to local reports, communication has been lost with all 10 members of the team, which includes an American, a Chinese national, an Omani and five Nepalis. Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi was also part of the team. According to the Pakistan Alpine Club, the avalanche struck around Thursday afternoon, and efforts are on to send a rescue helicopter to the peak. Nirmal Purja is a former British Speacial Forces member Purja, one of the world's most celebrated climbers, shot to the limelight in 2019 after scaling all the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in just over six months. His incredible feat was chronicled in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible".Broad Peak, located in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, near the China border, has often been regarded as one of the more challenging mountains for climbers. "Every effort is being made to ensure that helicopter support and all available rescue resources are mobilised at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions," the Pakistan Alpine Club said in a statement.- EndsPublished By: Abhishek DePublished On: Jul 31, 2026 09:45 IST