Avalanche on Broad Peak kills Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers

# Avalanche on Broad Peak kills Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers

The disaster on Pakistan’s 12th-highest mountain killed an expedition team that included veteran Himalayan climbers and first-time 8,000-meter aspirants.

By NeoTechNews Desk

Pakistani rescuers and expedition organizers confirmed on event date 2026-08-01 that famed mountaineer Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers died after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in northern Pakistan during an expedition two days earlier.

According to the supplied Al Jazeera report, Purja, 43, was leading the group on the 8,051-meter mountain when the avalanche hit at about midday on Thursday. Broad Peak, located in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is regarded as a technically difficult climb. The mountain’s scale and remoteness quickly turned the accident into a difficult recovery effort, with bad weather hampering helicopter operations.

Purja was one of the best-known high-altitude climbers of his generation. Al Jazeera notes that the Nepali-born former British soldier gained global recognition after climbing the world’s 14 highest mountains in a record 189 days in 2019, a feat featured in the Netflix documentary *14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible*. That record was later surpassed, but Purja remained one of the sport’s most visible figures.

The report says Pakistani officials first recovered three bodies and later confirmed the deaths of all 10 members of the expedition. Among those identified by the Gilgit-Baltistan government were Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy and American climber Mallory Geis. Al Harthy had become the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest, while Geis was attempting her first 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan.

The packet also sketches the composition of the full team: five Nepali climbers, the Omani and American climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang, and one other climber. That mix reflects how elite Himalayan expeditions often combine veteran guides, international clients and climbers from several national backgrounds in pursuit of the most difficult mountains.

The human cost reaches beyond a single marquee name. Al Jazeera describes Gurung as an accomplished mountaineer with repeated Everest ascents and rescues to his credit, while Al Harthy’s death carries special significance in Oman because of her pioneering status. Nepal’s prime minister publicly offered condolences, underscoring how deeply the disaster resonated in countries closely tied to high-altitude climbing.

The verified facts in the supplied source leave little ambiguity about the outcome. A single avalanche wiped out an entire 10-person team on one of Pakistan’s hardest peaks. For the mountaineering world, the loss is a reminder that even highly experienced climbers operating on major expeditions remain exposed to sudden objective danger that skill and preparation cannot always overcome.