Mountaineer Nirmal Purja killed in Pakistan avalanche, company confirms

Renowned mountaineer and former British Army soldier Nirmal Purja has died alongside nine other expedition members following a massive avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak, according to his company, Elite Expeditions.

The avalanche struck the 8,047-metre mountain in the Karakoram range around midday on Thursday, severing all contact with the ten-person international team. Search and rescue operations initially recovered three bodies—identified as mountaineers from Oman, Nepal, and the United States—while search teams continued high-altitude efforts for the remaining missing members.

However, Elite Expeditions later confirmed via social media that Purja and all nine other members of the expedition perished in the slide. Purja gained global prominence after climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks in under seven months, a feat documented in the film "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible".

Sources: BBC News, FAZ, Sweden Herald