SKARDU (GNP): A search team has brought the bodies of renowned climber Nirmal Purja and three members of his expedition down to the base camp of Broad Peak. On this mountain, an avalanche killed them, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said Wednesday.
The avalanche struck on July 30, severing contact with the 10-member international expedition led by 43-year-old British-Nepali climber Purja. His company later confirmed there were no survivors. In a statement posted on social media, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said an exceptionally challenging and technically demanding recovery operation had brought the bodies of Purja, Chinese mountaineer Zhong Wang, and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa safely to base camp.
The club noted that while the recovery marked an important milestone, three climbers remain missing on the mountain, and it remains committed to supporting further efforts to locate and recover them whenever conditions allow so they too can be returned to their families.
Also Read: Pakistani Boxer, Ugandan Athletes Go Missing After Commonwealth Games
Separately, the remains of three other expedition members, an American woman, an Omani woman and a Nepali man, had already been flown off the mountain to Skardu. The bodies of two additional Nepali nationals and a Pakistani citizen have not yet been recovered.
The losses have shaken the international climbing community. Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal’s National Mountain Guide Association, said the tragedy had cost the community a generation of accomplished mountaineers. The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the four recovered bodies would now be returned to their families, expressing hope that the recovery would bring them a measure of peace and allow them to lay their loved ones to rest with dignity
