Renowned Nepalese Mountaineer Nirmal Purja Among 10 Missing In PoK Avalanche

At least two mountaineers have been confirmed dead after an avalanche on Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir's Broad Peak. A group of 10 mountaineers, led by world-renowned Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, were reported missing after the avalanche struck on Thursday.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan has confirmed the death of two climbers -- Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman and Pur Bahadur Gurung "Yukta" of Nepal.

"Nadhira's body has been recovered and is being transported by helicopter to Skardu. Arrangements for Yukta's transport are underway," the club said in a statement on Friday.

"Search and rescue operations continue for those still missing. Our thoughts remain with all the families and the global mountaineering community during this difficult time," the club added.

Nirmal Purja, MBE, is one of three record-breaking mountaineers - Nirmal 'Nimsdai' Purja, MBE, Mingma David Sherpa and Tejan Gurung- who run the mountaineering company Elite Exped, which specialises in delivering tailored guiding experiences on the world's highest mountains.

Born in Nepal, Nimsdai, as he is popularly known, had a distinguished 16-year military career, spending six years in the elite Gorkha regiment, and 10 years with the UK Special Forces (SBS). He's now become a truly historic figure in the world of mountaineering, with an ever-growing list of climbing records under his belt.

According to local mountaineering bodies, the avalanche hit as the team of mountaineers led by Nirmal Purja were moving between Camp 2 and Camp 3 for a summit push. Nine mountaineers along with Nirmal Purja were part of the expedition and their whereabouts are still uncertain.

According to local reports the avalanche struck around noon on Thursday in the Karakoram Range. There has been no communication since the avalanche struck and helicopter rescue efforts were also delayed due to poor weather in the region.

What has provided a glimmer of hope to rescuers is the report that some movement has been reported from Nirmal Purja's tracking device after the avalanche was reported.

The mountaineering fraternity is in a state of shock after the news as avalanches usually result in fatalities during mountaineering expeditions. Parth Upadhayay, a friend of Nirmal Purja told NDTV, "If anyone can survive this it is Nimsdai. He is a fighter. After seeing the movement on the tracker device, it gives us hope and we are praying for good news." 

Upadhayaya spoke to Nirmal Purja on Sunday to wish him for his birthday said he was very excited about this expedition as he was on his way to become the first person to complete a of climbing all the 8000+ peaks thrice. 

Broad Peak is an 8051-metre peak in the Karakoram Range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. It is located around 8km from the K2 peak, the second highest mountain peak in the world.