ISLAMABAD (AP) — Renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers swept away by an avalanche in Pakistan are confirmed to have died, and search teams were trying to recover their bodies, Purja’s expedition company said Saturday.
“The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” the company, Elite Exped, said in a statement, adding that all the lives lost were being mourned. “No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss.”
The 10-member expedition was swept away by an avalanche Thursday on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.
Rescuers found four bodies and recovered three of them Friday in harsh weather that hampered flights by search and rescue helicopters. Rescuers backed by military helicopters had resumed a search earlier on Saturday for the others.
“The loss of these courageous climbers, who came from different nations united by their passion for the mountains, is an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity,” said Irfan Arshad Khan, the president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Khan paid tribute to the military and civilian rescuers and sherpas who took part in the search mission. “The mountains inspire us with their beauty, but they also remind us of the immense risks faced by those who venture into the high Himalaya and Karakoram,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, a local police official, Tahir Khan, said the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed were being flown to the capital, Islamabad, while the bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung remained at a hospital in Skardu, the main city in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
China’s embassy in Pakistan said a Chinese mountaineer also was among the missing after the avalanche, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
The expedition was led by Purja, the Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai. He climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.
Purja’s 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.”
A statement from Geis’ family said “Mallory was a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends. She will be profoundly missed.”
The expedition was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be the final one for Sakhi, who was a guide for Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan. Sakhi also was a geographer and high-altitude photographer who has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to the Moving Mountains website.
Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude and rapidly changing weather.
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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed.
