. KATHMANDU: Famous Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja ‘Nims Dai’ and all members of the Broad Peak expedition team have died in an avalanche in Pakistan. They went missing on Thursday after a massive avalanche at the 8,047-metre-high Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. Earlier international media reported that 10 climbers including Nirmal Purja were caught in an avalanche and the search and rescue operations were underway.

The team included 6 Nepalese, one American, one Chinese, one Omani and other international climbers.TAG_OPEN_p_9 A rescue team had reached the site after a drone spotted more bodies near Camp 1 while searching for climbers who had gone missing after the avalanche. Pakistan Army helicopters and land rescue teams intensified the search operation.

Officials said that the rescue operation has become extremely difficult due to inclement weather in the high mountainous region, steep terrain and dangerous conditions above 6,000 meters.TAG_OPEN_p_8 Although some bodies were found in the initial phase, the condition of the rest of the climbers was uncertain.

Nirmal Purja was a global icon in the Nepali mountaineering sector.TAG_OPEN_p_7 In 2019, he set a world record by climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters in just 6 months and six days. His adventurous journey was praised all over the world and he became known around the world with Netflix’s famous documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

TAG_OPEN_p_6 The death of Nims Dai, who wrote a new chapter in the history of Nepali mountaineering, has deeply saddened the world mountaineering community. His courage, determination and journey that made the impossible possible will always inspire.

The hero of the Himalayas, Nims Dai, is now history, but his records will live forever as memories taller than Mount Everest.