Avalanche on Broad Peak kills 10 climbers including record-holder Nirmal Purja

An avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak killed all 10 members of an international climbing expedition on July 30, 2026, including renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who held the record for climbing the world's 14 highest peaks in 189 days. The disaster struck at approximately 6,600 meters on the 8,047-meter peak in the Karakoram range as the team attempted to ascend the west ridge route. By August 6, rescue teams had recovered eight bodies, with two climbers still missing. Search operations were suspended on August 8 due to deteriorating weather conditions and ongoing avalanche risk, with officials stating efforts would resume once conditions improve.

The expedition comprised five Nepali climbers, Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, American climber Mallory Geis, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and other foreign climbers. Purja, 43, led the team and was widely known as Nims Dai. He gained international recognition after climbing all 14 of the world's peaks above 8,000 meters in record time in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible." His record was surpassed in 2023.

Recovered bodies included Purja himself, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta), Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, and American climber Mallory Geis of San Antonio. Two climbers—Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi and Nepali climber Nawang Thindu Sherpa—remained missing as of the suspension. Officials located Sherpa's body but determined it lay in a dangerous, avalanche-prone area too risky to retrieve.

Geis, 39, had closed her Pilates studio earlier in 2026 to pursue mountaineering, describing the decision on social media as "a giant leap of faith into the unknown." This was her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak. Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest. Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as Yukta, had summited Everest 10 times and was one of only 100 internationally certified Nepali mountain guides.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan described the incident as one of Pakistan's deadliest mountaineering disasters. Bodies recovered by August 6 were airlifted to Skardu and subsequently transferred to Islamabad for repatriation to their respective countries. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah and UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting expressed condolences, acknowledging the climbers' courage and contributions to mountaineering.