Nirmal Purja Killed in Broad Peak Avalanche in Pakistan

August 3, 2026 5 Min Read

Nirmal Purja, the Nepali-British mountaineer who climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in six months, died in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. He was 43.

The avalanche swept his 10-member team on Thursday, July 30, 2026, around midday. Pakistani rescuers recovered the first bodies on Friday. His expedition company, Elite Exped, confirmed his death on Saturday, August 1.

All ten climbers on the team are dead or presumed dead.

Quick answer

Who	Nirmal “Nimsdai” Purja, 43
Where	Broad Peak (8,051 m), Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
When	Thursday, July 30, 2026, around midday
Team size	10 climbers
Confirmed dead	August 1, 2026
Known for	All 14 eight-thousanders in 6 months, 6 days

What happened on Broad Peak

The team was on Broad Peak, the world’s twelfth-highest mountain at 8,051 metres, when the snow gave way near midday on Thursday.

One detail from the Pakistani search team explains why nobody walked away. GPS data showed the avalanche carried the group about 1,000 metres down the mountain, said Ayaz Shigri of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. So this was not a slip. A thousand metres is the height of three Eiffel Towers stacked end to end.

The climbers lost contact with base camp at once. Then by Friday, rescuers had found the group and started bringing bodies down.

Who died

Ten climbers were on the team. Those named so far:

Nirmal Purja (Nepal / UK) — expedition leader, 43
Sohail Sakhi (Pakistan) — mountaineer and guide from Hunza
Mallory Geis (USA) — 39, from San Antonio
Nadhira Al Harthy (Oman)
Pur Bahadur Gurung (Nepal)
Wang (China) — surname only released

The rest of the team were Nepali climbers, and officials have not yet released their names.

Sohail Sakhi’s own record deserves a note too. The Hunza climber topped Kangchenjunga in May 2026. Before that, he had climbed K2, Nanga Parbat, and the Gasherbrum peaks without bottled oxygen — a bar very few climbers in the world clear.

The Pakistani rescue operation

The response ran out of Gilgit-Baltistan, and weather fought it the whole way.

Pakistan Army Aviation sent two helicopters with specialist gear. Meanwhile the Alpine Club of Pakistan, led by its president Major General Irfan Arshad, ran the search. Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain put every department on high alert. He also told local officials to commit whatever they had.

Still, the weather kept grounding the helicopters. The Alpine Club said as much, promising to get air support up “at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions.”

Rescuers brought down the first bodies on Friday, July 31. Then bad weather forced the search to pause before it resumed. Six climbers were still missing as the work went on.

Who was Nirmal Purja?

His route into the sport was unlike anyone else’s.

Purja was born on July 25, 1983, in Dana, in Nepal’s Myagdi District. The family had little money. His father served as a Gurkha soldier, and his three older brothers followed him in. Then they paid for his schooling out of their army wages.

He joined the Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003. Then in 2009 he became the first Gurkha ever taken into the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service, where he trained in cold-weather warfare. In 2018 he quit as a Lance Corporal to climb full-time, turning down a surprise SAS invitation to do it. Queen Elizabeth II gave him an MBE that same year.

He lived in Hampshire, England, with his wife Suchi.

Nirmal Purja’s records

Project Possible made his name. Between April and October 2019, Purja topped all 14 eight-thousanders in six months and six days, using bottled oxygen. Before that, the record stood at just under eight years.

Inside that same run, he climbed Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within 48 hours.

Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa then broke the record in 2023, finishing in 92 days. By then, though, Purja had moved on to other firsts:

First winter climb of K2, January 2021, without bottled oxygen
50 eight-thousander summits by July 2025 — more than any climber in history
22 of those summits without bottled oxygen

Netflix released 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible in November 2021. So he became one of the few climbers known well outside the sport. He also founded Elite Exped and Skydive Nimsdai, and Loughborough University gave him an honorary degree in 2023.

The allegations against Nirmal Purja

Any account of his life has to note this, because it was still unresolved when he died.

In May 2024, two women — Dr April Leonardo and the professional climber Lotta Hintsa — accused Purja of sexual harassment and assault. He denied the claims through his lawyer. Then a podcast series called Summit Justice looked into them in February 2025. However, no court ever ruled on the case.

Frequently asked questions

How did Nirmal Purja die? An avalanche struck his 10-member team on Broad Peak in Pakistan on Thursday, July 30, 2026. Elite Exped confirmed his death on August 1.

How old was Nirmal Purja? He was 43. He was born on July 25, 1983, in Dana, Nepal.

Where is Broad Peak? In the Karakoram range in Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan, near the border with China. At 8,051 metres it is the world’s twelfth-highest mountain.

How many climbers died? All ten members of the team are dead or presumed dead, including a Pakistani, an American, an Omani, a Chinese climber, and several Nepalis.

What was Nirmal Purja famous for? Climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres in six months and six days in 2019, a record documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

Did Nirmal Purja serve in the military? Yes. He joined the Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003 and in 2009 became the first Gurkha to join the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service.

Who else died on Broad Peak? Named victims include Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, American climber Mallory Geis, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, and a Chinese climber named Wang.

Who carried out the rescue? Pakistan Army Aviation flew two helicopters, and the Alpine Club of Pakistan coordinated the search alongside Gilgit-Baltistan authorities. Bad weather repeatedly grounded the aircraft.