Update Broad Peak Avalanche: 6 Climbers Confirmed Dead as Recovery Mission Continues

Six climbers have now been confirmed dead following Thursday’s catastrophic avalanche on Broad Peak (8,047 meters) in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range, while recovery teams prepare to return to the mountain to retrieve the remaining victims.

The confirmations of the confirmed deaths has come in several stages. On Friday evening, July 31, the Commissioner of Baltistan’s office issued a press release confirming the deaths of Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, American climber Mallory Geis, and Nepali guide Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta.”. On Saturday, August 1, Elite Exped announced that legendary Nepali mountaineer Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja had died in the avalanche, along with fellow Nepali guides Nima Sherpa and Yukta.



Related: Nims Dai Purja Confirmed Dead Following Broad Peak Avalanche



Several hours later, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) confirmed that another climber located on Broad Peak had been correctly identified as Gyalu Sherpa. Gyalu had initially wrongly been identified as Killi Pemba Sherpa but the ACP posted a correction four hours later. This brings the total number of officially confirmed deaths to six.

The ACP also announced that a 10-member ground recovery team, comprising experienced Pakistani and Nepali high-altitude climbers, will leave Broad Peak Base Camp at 4:00 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time to recover the climbers who remain on the mountain, weather and terrain permitting. The mission will be led by Pakistani mountaineers Sirbaz Khan and Sherzad. Nims Purja’s business partner Mingma David Sherpa is also part of the recovery team.

Officials now believe that nine of the 10 climbers caught in the avalanche have either been recovered or located on the mountain, although only a portion of the remains have been physically brought back to Base Camp because of the dangerous terrain and continuing avalanche risk.

The six climbers officially confirmed dead are:



Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja (Nepal)

Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta” (Nepal)

Nima Sherpa (Nepal)

Gyalu Sherpa (Nepal)

Nadhira Al Harthy (Oman)

Mallory Geis (United States)



The remaining missing climbers are:



Kili Pemba Sherpa (Nepal)

Nawang Thindu Sherpa (Nepal)

Sohail Sakhi (Pakistan)

Wang Zhong (China)



Although no official death announcements have yet been made for the remaining four climbers, rescue officials now appear to be conducting a recovery operation rather than a search for survivors.

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through Nepal’s mountaineering community, with many describing it as one of the country’s greatest losses of elite climbing talent in a single accident. According to Nepal’s Kantipur, the avalanche claimed not only the life of world famous climber Nims Dai but an entire generation of highly experienced Himalayan guides whose combined achievements helped establish Nepal as the world’s leading mountaineering nation. “This tragedy is not just the deaths of 10 climbers,” Rishiram Bhandari, General Secretary of Nepal’s Expedition Operators Association, told Kantipur. “It is a deep blow to a proud generation of experience, leadership and records that Nepali mountaineering has built on the world stage over decades.”

Nims Dai Purja redefined modern Himalayan climbing and inspired millions through the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. He broke the record for the fastest ascent of all 14 8,000+ peaks in six months and six day and  was attempting to become the first person ever to climb all 14 8,000+ peaks twice without supplemental oxygen.

Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta” had climbed 12 of the world’s 14 highest mountains and summited Everest 10 times. Only Cho Oyu and Shishapangma remained before he would have completed all 14 8,000-ers himself.





Kili Pemba Sherpa, who remains missing, had only weeks earlier completed all 14 eight-thousanders, becoming one of Nepal’s elite climbers to achieve the feat. He also helped guide the first successful winter ascent of K2 under Purja’s leadership and became internationally known for guiding double-amputee climbers Xia Boyu to Everest and Rustam Nabiev to Manaslu.

Gyalu Sherpa, a veteran guide with Seven Summit Treks, held a Guinness World Record after summiting Kanchenjunga three times in a single season and had successfully guided climbers on Everest, Manaslu, Himlung, Kanchenjunga, Mera Peak, and Lenin Peak.

Nima Sherpa had already climbed four 8,000-meter peaks in 2026 before departing for Pakistan and was widely respected as one of Nepal’s rising high-altitude guides.

At just 29 years old, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, who also remains missing, represented the next generation of elite Himalayan climbers, already having summited Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu, and Ama Dablam.

Together, the Nepali climbers caught in the Broad Peak avalanche represented decades of experience guiding thousands of mountaineers safely to the summits of the world’s highest peaks. Their loss is being mourned not only across Nepal but throughout the global climbing community.

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