The world of extreme sports has plunged into deep mourning after the death of world-renowned Nepalese climber Nirmal “Nimsday” Purja and his entire 10-member group was officially confirmed.
The news was officially announced by his high-altitude expedition company Elite Exped on Saturday.
The incident occurred around noon on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at an altitude of about 6,600 meters, between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on the classic route to Broad Peak (8,051 m) - the twelfth highest peak on the planet. A huge mass of snow swept away the climbers, throwing them hundreds of meters down the steep slope.
The dark chronology of the incident in Pakistan
July 30 (Thursday): A powerful avalanche overtakes the group on the climb to the summit. The climbers' satellite GPS trackers register a sudden and sharp drop of over 800 vertical meters, after which communication is interrupted. July 31 (Friday): A large-scale rescue operation begins with ground teams, Pakistani military helicopters and drones. The bodies of the first three victims have been found - Nepalese mountain guide Pur Bahadur Gurung (“Yukta“), the first Omani woman to climb Everest - Nadhira Al Harti, and American Mallory Geiss. August 1 (Saturday): Rescue teams reach the remains of the other buried. Elite Exped confirmed that there are no survivors from the expedition. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah expressed his official condolences to the families of the deceased.
Who were the members of the international expedition?
The group led by the 43-year-old Purja consisted of a total of ten people. Six of them were experienced Sherpas and mountain guides from Nepal, and the remaining four - climbers from Pakistan, the United States, Oman and China. The area of Gilgit-Baltistan province, where Broad Peak is located, is considered one of the most technical and dangerous places for climbing in the Karakoram mountain range.
The eternal legacy of Nirmal Purja
Nirmal Purja remains in history as one of the greatest and most charismatic high-altitude climbers. A former member of the British special forces (Gurkhas and Royal Marines), in 2019 he blew up the sports world with his project “Project Possible“. Then he conquered all 14 eight-thousanders on Earth in a record time of just 6 months and 6 days. His achievement was immortalized in the hit Netflix documentary “14 Summits: Nothing is Impossible“. In 2021, he also led the first ever successful winter ascent of the considered impregnable peak K2 in winter.
Before undertaking his last fatal climb in Pakistan, Purja shared on social media that his goal was to become the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen. A memorial service for the fallen heroes will be organized at the base camp as soon as weather conditions in the Karakoram allow the safe transportation of the bodies.