Rescuers on Sunday recovered the body of renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, who was killed along with nine members of his expedition in an avalanche on Broad Peak in northern Pakistan, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said, according to reports.
The avalanche struck on Thursday, severing contact with the international expedition led by the 43-year-old mountaineer while attempting to scale one of the world's highest peaks. "The ground rescue team has reached Nims Dai (Purja) at approximately 5,700m on Broad Peak -- a mountain he loved, and a mountain that has now taken him from us," the club posted on social media.
Ayaz Shigri, the club general secretary, said a ground rescue team was bringing down the bodies of four people from the mountain, including Purja, two other Nepali nationals and a Chinese citizen, as reported by AFP.
"Rescuers have also confirmed the presence of one additional body at a significantly higher elevation," he said in a statement. "Due to the extremely hazardous terrain and prevailing conditions, it is unlikely that a recovery attempt will be made at this stage."
ALSO READ: Renowned Mountaineer Nirmal 'Nims Dai' Purja Confirmed Dead In Broad Peak Avalanche
Purja's expedition company confirmed on Saturday that there were no survivors among the team members.
Authorities in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region said the bodies of three climbers, including an Omani woman, a Nepali man and an American woman, were recovered on Friday and airlifted to Skardu.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the global mountaineering community, particularly in Nepal, with leaders, including Britain's Prince William, offering condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
Purja, a former member of Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines' Special Boat Service (formerly referred to as the Special Boat Squadron), went on to become one of the world's most accomplished mountaineers after turning professional. He set multiple climbing records and later led high-altitude expeditions through his adventure company.
"Nims (Purja) served with distinction in the British Armed Forces before becoming one of the world's greatest mountaineers, putting Nepalese climbers on the map," Prince William posted on X, saying he was "truly saddened" by the loss of life.
Purja wrote on X on Monday that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 "super peaks" twice without oxygen. "Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down," he wrote.
Rescuers had been searching the high-altitude terrain by air and on the ground since contact with the expedition was lost on Thursday. "My loving brothers... We will take you back home to see (your) families," Mingma G Sherpa, a mountaineer involved in the rescue, posted on Instagram on Saturday.
Messages of grief poured out after the confirmation that none of the team had survived. "This is an unthinkable loss for our mountaineering community and for the nation," Fur Gelje Sherpa, the President of Nepal's mountaineering association, posted on social media. "He was keen on making Nepal recognized in the world and developing our mountaineering sector."
Broad Peak is the world's 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000-metre-plus ascents.
ALSO READ: Who Is Nirmal Purja? Famous Mountaineer Nimsdai Missing After Avalanche In Pakistan
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