Nirmal Purja among 10 climbers feared missing after avalanche on PoK’s Broad Peak
Nirmal Purja at the summit of Mount Everest. (Photo: Instagram/@nimsdai)A team of ten mountaineers, led by Nepal-born former Royal Marine Nirmal Purja, is feared missing following an avalanche on PoK’s Broad Peak, one of the tallest mountains on Earth, the BBC reported.
What happened on the mountain?
Pakistani mountaineering officials said the avalanche hit around midday on Thursday on the 8,047-metre (26,400ft) peak in the Karakoram range. There has been no communication with the team since. Broad Peak is considered one of the more difficult mountains to climb and ranks as the world’s 12th highest.
The climbing group is said to include an American, a Chinese national, an Omani, and five Nepalis, according to the BBC. Purja, who is leading the expedition, is best known for climbing all 14 of the world’s mountains above 8,000 metres in just over six months in 2019.
Who is Nirmal Purja?
Purja joined the British Army in 2003 and became a Royal Marine in 2009.
His climbing career began in 2012, when he set out to walk to Everest base camp and, instead of turning back as planned, decided to climb the mountain in full.
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What is being done to find them?
Searchers hope to use a helicopter to reach the area if weather conditions allow. The Alpine Club of Pakistan said it had stayed in constant contact with government authorities to launch an immediate search and rescue operation, and that every effort was being made to secure helicopter support and mobilise available resources as quickly as possible.
The club said it “prays for the safety and successful rescue of all the climbers,” adding that it stood in solidarity with their families and the wider mountaineering community during the difficult time.
