A former Royal Marine and renowned mountaineer, Nirmal Purja, is among ten people feared missing after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak. The snowslide occurred midday on Thursday at the 8,047-meter (26,400 ft) peak in the Karakoram range, and no communication has been established with Purja's expedition team since.
Purja, who served 15 years in the British military, was leading a group that included one Pakistani climber, one from China, an American, an Omani, and five climbers from Nepal. The Alpine Club of Pakistan has stated it is in contact with government authorities and relevant agencies to initiate a search and rescue operation.
Rescuers are preparing to deploy helicopter support as weather conditions permit. Efforts are being made to mobilize all available rescue resources at the earliest opportunity.
Purja joined the British Army as a Gurkha in 2003 and later transferred to the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service in 2009, becoming the first Gurkha to join the elite unit. He specialized in cold-weather warfare and has previously spoken of his involvement in various military theaters. He resigned from the SBS in 2018 to focus on mountaineering.
Purja has an extensive mountaineering record, including six ascents of Mount Everest, with his most recent in 2022. In 2019, he achieved the feat of climbing all 14 of the world's mountains exceeding 8,000 meters in just over six months. He was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2018 for his high-altitude mountaineering achievements.