Body of Climber Nirmal Purja Found After Avalanche: Who Was He?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rescuers have recovered the body of Nirmal Purja, a celebrated British-Nepali climber who were killed alongside nine mountaineers during an expedition in northern Pakistan earlier this week, according to Anadolu and Channel News Asia. 

Purja's body was found on Sunday, August 2, after an avalanche that struck Thursday killed all members of the 43-year-old's international expedition team on Broad Peak.

Broad Peak stands at 8,047 meters in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. It is the world's 12th-highest mountain.

"The ground rescue team has reached Nims Dai (Purja) at approximately 5,700m on Broad Peak - a mountain he loved, and a mountain that has now taken him from us," the mountaneering organization Alpine Clube of Pakistan posted on social media.

Purja's remains was discovered alongside three other bodies, including Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Nepali climbers Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa.

According to the club's general secretary Ayaz Shigri, rescuers also confirmed the presence of one additional body "at significantly higher elevation," but recovery attempt is delayed by "extremely hazardous terrain and prevailing conditions."

Meanwhile, four bodies were found earlier on Friday, but rescue team brought down only three as helicopters were grounded by harsh weather. These climbers were Pur Bahadur Gurung from Nepal, Nadhira Al Harthy from Oman, and American climber Mallory Geis.

Search by military backed rescue teams resumed for two remaining climbers, as seven bodies and parts of an eighth bodies had been found so far. 

According to Al Jazeera, one of the climbers remain missing is Sohail Sakhi, a photographer and guide from Pakistan who had planned to retire from expedition work after the climb. 

Who Was Nirmal Purja?

Citing DW, the renowned mountaineer widely known as Nims Dai, Nirmal Purja, was one of the best-known high-altitude climbers of his generation.

Purja served with the Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas before joining the Elite Special Boat Service. He left the military to become a full-time mountaineer and guide. 

Upon his death, Britain's Prince William posted on X, stating that he was "truly saddened" by Purja's death and that he "served with distinction in the British Armed Forces."

"[He became] one of the world's greatest mountaineers, putting Nepalese climbers on the map," he added.

Puja's record-breaking hike catapulted him to international fame in 2019, where he climed all 14 of the world's mountains above 8,000 meters in just 189 days. 

This achievement was chronicled in a Netflix, documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible." His record was broken in 2023, according to ABC News.

Before his last ascent on Broad Peak, he posted on X, wishing for "nothing but safe passage up and back down."

Read: Pakistan Finds Four Bodies After Broad Peak Avalanche, Nirmal Purja Still Missing

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News