Avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak Leaves Two Dead as Search Continues for Eight Missing Climbers

An avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan killed two climbers, while eight other members of renowned Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja’s team remain missing.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan announced that the victims were Nadira Al Harthi of Oman and Pur Bahadur Gurung, known by the nickname “Yukta,” of Nepal.

According to a statement released on Friday, Nadira’s body has been located and is being flown by helicopter to her home country, while arrangements to transport Yukta’s body are being finalized.

The club also said that the search for the other missing climbers has not been called off, expressing solidarity with the victims’ families and the international mountaineering community during this difficult time.

The avalanche struck the group as the climbers were making their way from Camp 2 to Camp 3, from where they planned to continue toward the summit. There were 10 climbers in the expedition, including Nirmal Purja.

According to local media reports, the incident occurred at around midday on Thursday in the Karakoram mountain range. There has been no contact with the group since the avalanche, while bad weather has hampered the deployment of search-and-rescue helicopters.

Despite the situation, rescue teams remain hopeful of finding survivors after Purja’s tracking device detected some movement following the avalanche.

Nirmal Purja, known internationally as “Nimsdai,” is one of three record-breaking mountaineers who run Elite Exped. Together with Mingma David Sherpa and Tejan Gurung, he organizes guided expeditions to the world’s highest peaks.

The Nepalese-born mountaineer served a total of 16 years in the military: six years in the elite Gurkha Regiment and then 10 years in the United Kingdom’s Special Boat Service, SBS.

Purja, 43, is regarded as one of the most important figures in world mountaineering. He holds the record for the fastest ascent of all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.