Last updated: July 31, 2026, 12:30 pm NPT This is a post will be updated as verified information becomes available.
Update, July 31 afternoon: Helicopters carrying Pakistani high-altitude climbers Sirbaz Khan and Sherzad Karim have departed for Broad Peak with rescue equipment and supplemental oxygen. Six climbers remain missing after four bodies were recovered. GPS trackers, including Purja’s, have shown movement since the avalanche, though rescuers caution the data cannot confirm anyone’s condition.
Rescuers have recovered four bodies on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, where Nepali-born mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja and nine other climbers went missing after a massive avalanche struck the mountain Thursday, July 30.
The identities of the four have not been confirmed, Alpine Club of Pakistan president Irfan Arshad Khan said.
The avalanche hit the upper slopes of the 8,047-meter peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range as the international team was pushing toward the summit. All contact with the expedition was lost after the slide.
“The entire team has reportedly been out of communication since the avalanche,” Karrar Haidri, senior vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a statement.
Nirmal Purja Among 10 Climbers Missing in Broad Peak Avalanche
GPS movement gives hope
Purja’s GPS tracker showed continuous movement until 6:30 am Friday, according to his business partner Mingma David Sherpa, a record-holding climber and member of Nepal’s parliament.
“Initially, the GPS showed a descent after the avalanche, but since the location has been changing until 6:30 am today, it gives hope that the team is alive and trying to move toward a safe place,” Sherpa told Ratopati.
Who is missing
The missing team includes six Nepali climbers: Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa and Nawang Thindu Sherpa, according to the Kathmandu Post.
Also missing are Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, American climber Mallory Geis, Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Omani climber Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy. Earlier statements from the Alpine Club of Pakistan had identified the Omani climber as Nathira; reports on the team’s full composition still vary.
Purja was leading the Elite Exped team. Four expeditions were on Broad Peak at the time of the avalanche, including groups from Elite Exped, Imagine Nepal and Seven Summit Treks.
Nepal sends rescue specialists
A three-member Nepali rescue team led by Mingma David Sherpa is flying to Pakistan on a 3 pm flight Friday. The team includes Sherpa climbers experienced in long-line helicopter rescue in Nepal’s high mountains.
Visas were arranged on an emergency basis through Nepal’s foreign and tourism ministries and the Nepali Embassy in Islamabad, Sherpa said. The team will join the search directly on arrival, working with rescuers on the ground.
Pakistan has mobilized army helicopters, drones and ground teams from Skardu, Nepal’s ambassador to Pakistan Rita Dhital told Kantipur. Ground rescue teams have reached the area.
Thaneshwar Guragain, general manager of Seven Summit Treks, said some climbers swept by the avalanche were brought back to base camp in an overland rescue effort. The four bodies were found during that operation. He said the chances of finding the missing climbers alive were becoming more difficult with time.
Poor weather initially prevented helicopter flights. Rescue operations in Pakistan generally take longer than in Nepal because helicopter deployments are routed through military channels and require multiple clearances, officials say.
According to Mingma David Sherpa, rescue teams detected signs of movement at 6:18 AM, raising fresh hope in the Broad Peak rescue operation.
A delayed alarm
The avalanche struck Thursday morning, but according to ExplorersWeb, the alarm was not raised until nearly 13 hours later, around 10 pm, despite teams having staff at base camp.
“We are all shocked,” Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan told ExplorersWeb. The delay cost rescuers a full day of daylight when helicopters might have reached the site.
Days after his 57th 8,000-meter summit
The avalanche came just nine days after Purja climbed Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters) without supplemental oxygen on July 21, the 57th successful 8,000-meter ascent of his career.
Purja was nearing completion of his “Hat-Trick Project,” an attempt to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks three times. Only Cho Oyu remained.
The former British special forces soldier from Myagdi rose to global fame in 2019 when he summited all 14 eight-thousanders in six months and six days, a feat documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” He is the co-founder of the guiding company Elite Exped and runs the Nimsdai Foundation, which funds education and community projects across Nepal, including a recently opened porter shelter in the Everest region.
Read our full profile: Nirmal “Nims” Purja biography
About Broad Peak
Broad Peak is the world’s 12th-highest mountain, standing on the Pakistan-China border about one to two hours from K2. It is not considered among the most technically difficult 8,000-meter peaks, but its altitude, unstable weather and avalanche exposure make it dangerous, particularly after heavy snowfall.
The avalanche struck during the busiest stretch of the Karakoram summer season, with expeditions active on Broad Peak, K2 and the Gasherbrums.
Nepal’s climbing community, along with families of the missing, is awaiting news as the search continues.
Sources: Alpine Club of Pakistan, The Kathmandu Post, Ratopati, Onlinekhabar, Everest Chronicle, ExplorersWeb, CNN
