- Nirmal Purja's remains arrived in the UK for a funeral with a guard of honour
- The funeral is set for August 26 at Milton Abbey in Blandford Forum, England
- Purja's family requested privacy but allowed close contacts to pay respects
The remains of world-renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal 'Nimsdai' Purja-- one of the 10 mountaineers caught in a deadly avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last month --have arrived in the United Kingdom, where he is due to receive a guard of honour at his funeral, according to the president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) UK.
The funeral of Purja, a Nepal-born former British Gurkha soldier widely known as Nimsdai, is scheduled to be held on August 26 at Milton Abbey in Blandford Forum, southwest England.
Purja climbed the world's 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible." His record was broken in 2023.
"We have been informed that Nimsdai's body has arrived in the UK, and his funeral is scheduled toward the end of August," Prem Gaha Magar, president of NRNA UK, told NDTV.
According to Magar, Purja's family received his remains on August 9, and they have since been kept at an undisclosed location for security reasons.
Purja's Family Reacts
Purja's family has issued a statement saying they have been deeply touched by the extraordinary outpouring of love, respect, and support for the mountaineer from people across the UK and around the world.
"Nimsdai's funeral is a private family funeral. The family has nevertheless sought, wherever reasonably possible, to enable those closest to Nimsdai and representatives of the many communities and organisations connected with him to pay their respects," the statement read.
The statement acknowledged growing criticism over gatekeeping the legendary mountaineer's last rites but said the "family must prioritise the safe and respectful conduct of the funeral and preserve the private nature of this deeply personal occasion."
"We are immensely grateful for the love, respect and support shown towards Nimsdai. At this exceptionally difficult time, we respectfully ask for everyone's understanding and cooperation and, above all, that the family be given the space to grieve and lay Nimsdai to rest with the dignity, privacy and respect he deserves," the statement added.
Who Will Attend the Funeral?
Former Deputy Speaker of Nepal and Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Indira Rana Magar, who demanded the "national hero" title for Purja, will be in London to attend the funeral.
Renowned Nepali climbers Mingma G and Mingma David Sherpa are also in London to attend the funeral. It was Mingma G who launched a daring rescue operation on Broad Peak to retrieve Purja's body. His team struggled for 12 hours to bring the bodies of all 10 climbers from the height at which they were found to the base camp, from where the bodies were airlifted to Skardu.
The 10-member expedition comprised six Nepali climbers and one each from Pakistan, Oman, the United States, and China. At 8,051 meters, Broad Peak is the world's 12th-highest mountain. Located near K2, it remains a major challenge for even experienced high-altitude climbers.
