Kathmandu, August 2 (ANI): Rescuers on Sunday recovered the body of renowned British-Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja, along with those of three other climbers, and brought them to Camp I on Broad Peak, officials said.
The ground rescue team reached Purja’s body at an altitude of about 5,700 meters, along with the bodies of three other climbers, which were transported to Camp I, the Alpine Club Pakistan (ACP) announced.
According to the ACP, the three additional bodies recovered and brought to Camp I were identified as Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Nepali guides Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa.
The rescue team began the recovery mission before dawn Sunday amid hazardous conditions on the world’s 12th-highest peak. The 10-member team, comprising Pakistani and Nepali climbers, departed for Camp I at 4 a.m. local time and made its way through debris left by the avalanche that struck last week.
The ongoing recovery mission is being led by veteran Nepali climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Mingma G), Dawa Sherpa, and Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan.
Purja, widely known as “Nimsdai,” and his team of 10 climbers were caught in an avalanche while attempting to summit the 8,051-meter peak on Thursday. There had initially been hope that he had survived after his tracking device showed movement of about 10 meters. The reading raised hopes that he was alive and awaiting rescue, but those hopes faded as delays mounted in deploying rescue teams.
Tracking data showed that Purja reached an altitude of 6,659 meters, above Camp II on Broad Peak, at 9:38 a.m. local time Thursday. The tracker then recorded a rapid descent of about 800 meters to 5,891 meters at 10:18 a.m., consistent with the reported avalanche. No further location data was transmitted from his tracker, aside from the 10-meter movement that was later believed to have been a technical glitch.
The 43-year-old record-setting climber was born in a village in Nepal’s Myagdi district, at an altitude of about 1,600 meters. Raised in a Gurkha family, he joined the British Army’s Gurkha Regiment in 2003 at age 18 and was later selected for the United Kingdom Special Forces in 2009.
During his 16 years of military service, Purja developed a passion for mountaineering. He made his first ascent in 2012 by climbing the 6,119-meter Lobuche Peak. In 2018, he left the military to pursue mountaineering full time. That same year, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his achievements.
Purja gained international recognition in 2019 after completing Project Possible 14/7, climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in a record six months and six days.
Two days after the avalanche, rescuers recovered the body of Nepali climbing guide Gyalu Sherpa. A native of eastern Nepal’s Sankhuwasabha district, Gyalu held a Guinness World Record for climbing Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain, three times in a single season after reaching the summit on May 10, 19, and 25 last year.
Last week, the bodies of Nepali guide Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as “Yukta,” and Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy were also recovered from the mountain. Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest.
Rescuers also recovered a severed leg believed to belong to American climber Mallory Geis. Al Harthy’s body has been flown to Islamabad, while the others remain in Skardu pending further arrangements.
All of the climbers were confirmed dead Saturday evening by Purja’s expedition company, Elite Exped, in social media posts.
Five Nepali climbers who died in the avalanche have been identified as Pur Bahadur Gurung (“Yukta”), Kili Pemba Sherpa (“Kilu”), Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, and Gyalu Sherpa.
Others killed in the avalanche include Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy of Oman, Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Wang Zhong of China, Mallory Geis of the United States, and Nirmal “Nims” Purja of the United Kingdom. (ANI)
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