Rescue Teams Recover Body of Legendary Climber Nirmal Purja

Pakistani search teams backed by military helicopters recovered the body of renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and three other missing climbers on Wednesday, bringing the total number of bodies recovered from Broad Peak to seven nearly a week after an avalanche killed a 10-member international climbing expedition on July 30. The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed that the recovery operation was one of the most technically challenging rescue missions ever conducted on Broad Peak, with the bodies of Purja, Chinese climber Zong Wang, and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa successfully transported to base camp. Three other bodies had been recovered and brought down on August 1.

Local officials said the bodies will be transported to a military hospital in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, once weather conditions improve. Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, family members, friends, and supporters of the climbers held candlelight vigils and memorial ceremonies.

Mountaineering accidents are relatively common in Pakistan due to frequent avalanches, ice falls, and rockslides, combined with rapidly changing weather at high altitudes. In 2025, a Chinese climber died when struck by rockfall while descending K2, the world's second-highest mountain. Typically, the bodies of foreign mountaineers who die on Pakistani peaks are only recovered if requested by families and governments; if families refuse, bodies are often left at the site of death.