- Nirmal Purja's body was recovered from Broad Peak and brought to Base Camp after a rescue operation
- Bodies of Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, and Kilu Sherpa were also recovered and transported to Base Camp.
- An avalanche struck 10 climbers at 6,600 meters on Broad Peak on July 30 causing fatalities
Legendary mountaineer Nirmal Purja, known worldwide as 'Nimsdai', is finally set to return home after his body was recovered from Broad Peak and brought down to Base Camp in a challenging rescue operation led by his friend Mingma G, who had vowed to bring him back after the deadly July 30 avalanche.
The bodies of fellow climbers Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa have also been recovered and transported to Base Camp.
On July 30, an avalanche struck a group of 10 climbers attempting to summit Broad Peak in the Karakoram range in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The avalanche occurred at an altitude of around 6,600 metres (21,700 feet) between Camp 2 and Camp 3, sweeping the climbers down the mountain.
The group included Nirmal Purja (Nimsdai), Pur Bahadur Gurung (Yukta), Nima Sherpa, Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman, Kili Pemba Sherpa (Kilu), Nawang Thindu Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Mallory Geis of the United States and Wang Zhong of China.
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"On behalf of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, it is announced with great sadness that, following an exceptionally challenging and technically demanding recovery operation on Broad Peak, the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa have been successfully recovered and have now arrived safely at Base Camp," the President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement.
"I extend my sincere gratitude to the dedicated ground recovery team, led by Mingma G and supported by Sirbaz Khan, Abid Baig, Sherbaz, Dipen Gurung and Pemba Chhewang Sherpa, whose courage, professionalism and selfless commitment made this recovery possible under extremely difficult conditions," the statement added.
The bodies of three climbers remain missing, while the recovered bodies of the others are yet to be brought down to Base Camp. "While today marks an important milestone, three climbers remain missing. We remain committed to supporting all possible efforts to locate and recover them, whenever conditions allow, so that they too may be returned home to their loved ones," the Alpine Club of Pakistan said.
On August 1, Elite Exped, the mountaineering company co-founded by Purja, announced: "Today, it is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal 'Nimsdai' Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak. We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive."
Just days before the tragedy, Purja spoke to NDTV's Senior Managing Editor, Vishnu Som, from Broad Peak.
"Hey brother, greetings and namaste. Right now, I am at Camp 2 of Broad Peak, one of the world's 8,000-metre mountains," he told Vishnu Som in a voice message.
Nimsdai was chasing a new world record. "I am now running for my 58th summit of 8,000-metre peaks, which is the highest in the world. I just opened the internet to check the weather forecast. But this message got downloaded as well," he said from Broad Peak.
