Body of famed international climber Nirmal Purja and 3 more found after Pakistan avalanche
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- Nirmal Purja and three other climbers — Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, and Kili Pemba Sherpa — were found dead by a ground team on Broad Peak, identified by the Alpine Club of Pakistan as four of the 10 expedition members killed by the avalanche.
- Rescuers had located four other bodies on Friday but recovered only three — Omani Nathira Ahmed, American Mallory Geis, and Nepalese Bahadur Gurung — because harsh weather grounded search-and-rescue helicopters.
- Military-backed teams resumed searching Sunday for the two remaining climbers, including Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, whose body remained missing despite Sakhi planning this as his final expedition before retirement.
- Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier known as Nims Dai, climbed the world's 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019 — a feat featured in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" and one he held until it was surpassed in 2023.
- Purja's expedition company described him as "a leader who inspired millions through his courage, humility and unwavering belief that human potential is far greater than we often imagine."
- The Alpine Club of Pakistan called the tragedy "an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity," praising military and civilian rescuers and the Sherpas who participated in the recovery mission.
Why it matters: Two of the 10 expedition members remain missing on Broad Peak, leaving Pakistan's mountaineering community without full closure. Purja's 189-day record for all 14 eight-thousanders had already been surpassed in 2023, but his Netflix-documented feat made him the sport's most recognizable modern figure — and the loss now falls on an expedition that included a Pakistani geographer-photographer for whom this was supposed to be a final, career-capping climb.
