Netflix mountaineering star Nirmal Purja is among six climbers missing and feared dead after a devastating avalanche struck Pakistan’s Broad Peak mountain.
Purja, 43, whose record-breaking adventures were featured in the 2021 documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,” was leading a team of 10 climbers when disaster struck around noon on July 30.
The group was reportedly near the highest point of its climb in Pakistan’s treacherous Karakoram mountain range when the avalanche tore through the expedition.
Four bodies have since been recovered, while an international rescue operation continues to search for Purja and five other missing climbers.
The Pakistan-led mission was temporarily suspended when severe weather made aerial searches too dangerous. Officials later confirmed that rescue efforts were continuing.
Pakistan’s Alpine Club said in a statement that authorities “remain hopeful for the safe recovery of the missing climbers.”
Purja had shared an emotional message on social media shortly before beginning the dangerous ascent.
“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote on X.
Purja became an international star after completing a historic challenge to climb all 14 of the world’s mountains taller than 8,000 meters. His astonishing achievement was chronicled in the hit Netflix documentary.
Broad Peak, which stands more than 26,000 feet tall near the Pakistan-China border, is considered one of the world’s most dangerous and unforgiving mountains.
As poor weather continues to complicate the search, loved ones and climbing fans around the world are anxiously awaiting news about Purja and the five other missing mountaineers.
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