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Famous mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who was the subject of a 2021 Netflix documentary, was among 10 climbers confirmed dead on Saturday on the world’s 12th-tallest mountain in Pakistan.
The climbers were killed when they were hit by an avalanche on the 26,414-foot-tall Broad Peak Thursday in the Karakoram mountain range.
“The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” Elite Exped, the company involved in the expedition, said in a statement, adding, “we mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy.”
AMERICAN CLIMBER’S REMAINS FOUND AFTER AVALANCHE IN PAKISTAN, OTHER MOUNTAINEERS STILL MISSING
Nirmal Purja speaks during a news conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 28, 2019, after climbing six mountains including Mount Everest as part of an attempt to climb fourteen 8,000-meter peaks in seven months. (REUTERS)
The company added, “No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss.”
Purja had been leading the group up Broad Peak.
A Pakistani rescue team recovered three bodies on Friday, including American Sarah Mallory Geis, but had to temporarily halt the operation in the “remote and difficult” area due to weather conditions.
The search resumed on Saturday and rescuers are attempting to recover the remaining seven bodies.
“The loss of these courageous climbers, who came from different nations united by their passion for the mountains, is an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity,” Irfan Arshad Khan, the president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said.
The climbers were ascending Broad Peak, the world’s 12th tallest mountain in the Karakoram range of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. (AFP via Getty Images)
“The mountains inspire us with their beauty, but they also remind us of the immense risks faced by those who venture into the high Himalaya and Karakoram,” he added, thanking the military, Sherpas and civilians who took part in the rescue mission.
Along with Purja, who was British-Nepali, and Geis, the other climbers were from Pakistan, Nepal and China.
Purja was featured in the 2021 Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” in which he attempted to summit the world’s 14 tallest mountains in seven months.
Nirmal Purja, one of the members of the all-Nepalese mountaineering team that became the first to scale Mount K2 in winter, gestures as the team arrives at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Jan. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
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British Defense Minister Wes Streeting called Purja an “inspirational man who served in our Armed Forces for many years — and whose incredible mountaineering adventures are known the world over.”
The 43-year-old had served in the British army with the Gurkhas, Nepali soldiers recruited to serve with the U.K., and he later served in the British special forces.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.