Elite Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja was killed in an avalanche at Broad Peak, confirmed an adventure company on Friday. Purja and five other climbers has been missing since Thursday following an avalanche that struck them.
Broad Peak (8,051 metres), located in the Karakoram range near K2, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is considered one of the most challenging peaks to climb. The avalanche struck the mountain at an altitude of around 7,000 metres Thursday, sweeping away the 10-member climbing team that had begun its summit push, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP).
In a post on social media platform Instagram, the company Elite Exped said, “Today, it is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak. We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”
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It further wrote, “”Today, we mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy including his trusted climbing partners and guides, Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta) and Nima Sherpa. Our deepest thoughts, prayers and heartfelt condolences are with their families, friends and loved ones. No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss, and we ask that everyone respects their privacy as they grieve.”
The climbers — six from Nepal, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American and one Chinese — went missing at around 9 am on Thursday following the avalanche.
Besides Purja and Gurung, the other Nepalese climbers are Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa. The other missing climbers are Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Wang Zhong of China and Mallory Geis of the United States.
Who was Nirmal Purja aka ‘Nimsdai’?
British-Nepali climber Purja, known as ‘Nims Dai’, is regarded as one of the world’s leading high-altitude mountaineers. He was born on July 25, 1983, in Myagdi district of Gandaki Province and raised in Chitwan in Nepal. A former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines’ elite Special Boat Service, the 43-year-old has set several mountaineering records since becoming a full-time climber and expedition guide.
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In 2019, he created history by climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in just six months and six days under his ‘Project Possible’ expedition. In 2021, he was part of the team of 10 Nepali climbers that made the first successful winter ascent of K2.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, termed Purja as “one of the best climbers” in the world. “He has climbed eight thousanders for most of the time,” he added. Starting in 2003, Purja had a distinguished 16-year military career, of which he spent six years as a Gurkha and 10 years with the UK Special Forces (SBS).
According to the UK’s Gurkha Museum, Purja is the first ever Gurkha to join the UK Special Boat Service, a unit predominantly made up of Royal Marines. The SBS, alongside the SAS, is regarded as the most elite unit in the British Military, it said.
“During his time with the SBS, Nims developed an interest in mountaineering, which quickly developed into a passion. In December 2012, whilst on leave from his Special Forces duties, Nims set out to trek to Everest Base Camp. This experience fired his passion and ambition for the mountains almost immediately,” according to the museum’s website.
Soon after his army stint, Purja embarked on a record-breaking mountaineering spree. In March 2020, he announced his new enterprise ‘Nimsdai’ – from the Nepalese ‘dai’, meaning ‘brother’ with a primary objective to share his knowledge and approach to big mountain climbing.
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Through his charity, the Nimsdai Foundation, Purja carried out a lot of work to benefit the underprivileged. It included, along with his Elite Himalayan Adventures, a contribution of USD 5,000 to provide food parcels to Sherpa communities whose livelihood was affected due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
Purja penned down his story of scaling the Earth’s 14 of what are known as death zone peaks in a record time in the book, ‘Beyond Possible: One Soldier, Fourteen Peaks – My Life in the Death Zone.’
Four bodies recovered
Four bodies have been recovered by ground teams following an avalanche on Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain, but their identities are yet to be confirmed, Alpine Club of Pakistan President Irfan Arshad Khan said. Khan further said that while four bodies have been retrieved so far by rescue teams, the identification process is still pending.
According to a report by CNN, emergency crews on the ground and in helicopters are searching the Karakoram mountain range for the 10 climbers, including one American, who are believed to have been on 8,047-meter-tall Broad Peak when an avalanche struck around midday Thursday. None of the climbers have been heard from since the avalanche. The location of four climbers is showing up on GPS, according to Alpine Club general secretary Ayaz Ahmed Shigri, CNN reported.
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