Following an exceptionally demanding rescue operation on Broad Peak, the bodies of four members of the international expedition buried by an avalanche last week have been found. The search for three more missing climbers continues.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) announced on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, that the bodies of celebrated British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja and three of his colleagues have been successfully recovered and brought to base camp on Broad Peak. The news came nearly a week after an avalanche severed all contact with the ten-member international expedition.
"On behalf of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, we confirm with great sorrow that, after an exceptionally demanding and technically challenging rescue operation on Broad Peak, the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Zhong Wang, Nima Sherpa, and Kila Sherpa have been successfully recovered and have now safely arrived at base camp," reads the ACP statement posted on social media. Alongside the 43-year-old Purja, who led the expedition, the identities of the deceased include Chinese climber Zhong Wang and two Nepali climbers, Nima and Kila Sherpa.
While the recovery of the four bodies marks a significant milestone, three members of the expedition remain unaccounted for. "Although today marks an important milestone, three climbers are still missing," the ACP statement adds. "We remain committed to supporting all possible efforts to locate and bring them back, whenever conditions allow, so that they too can be returned to their loved ones."
These include Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi from the Hunza region and two Nepali nationals. On Monday, funeral prayers in absentia were held in Sakhi's hometown of Aliabad, where hundreds of people gathered to bid farewell to the young mountaineer. The bodies of the remaining three team members, including an American, a woman from Oman, and a Nepali, were earlier flown to the city of Skardu in northern Pakistan.
The tragedy on the world's 12th-highest peak, located in the Karakoram range and rising to 8,047 meters, has deeply shaken the global climbing community. "We have lost a generation of experienced climbers," said Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association. Mountain guide Man Raj Gurung echoed this sentiment, telling Le Figaro: "This is a great loss for our mountaineering sector. It may take years to see such climbers again, because not everyone will be willing to take on such a risky job."
British Prince William also expressed his condolences, and Mingma David Sherpa, Purja's business partner and a member of Nepal's House of Representatives, thanked all those involved in the rescue operation. "We appreciate the courage, professionalism, and selfless dedication of the rescue team on the ground. We are deeply grateful to every team member for carrying out this mission under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions," he said.
The fatal avalanche occurred on July 30, 2026, and contact with the entire expedition was lost at that time. Purja's company soon confirmed there were no survivors. ACP President, retired Major General Irfan Arshad Khan, stated that the bodies of the four recovered climbers would be transported by helicopter to Skardu, which had not been possible for the previous three days due to poor weather conditions.
Nirmal Purja will be remembered as one of the greatest climbers of his generation. In 2019, he stunned the world by summiting all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters in just over six months, shattering the previous record of seven years. Two years later, in 2021, he was part of the first all-Nepali team to successfully complete a winter ascent of K2 (8,611 m), the world's second-highest mountain. Broad Peak was first conquered in 1957, when an Austrian expedition reached its summit.
