Famous Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, the hero of the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks," died in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan. His friend Mingma Gyalje Sherpa told the BBC about the dangerous operation during which the bodies of the deceased were brought down from the mountain, reports UNN.
Details
The disaster occurred on July 30, when a group of 10 mountaineers was climbing Broad Peak. According to eyewitnesses, a massive avalanche suddenly descended from the summit. Contact with the group was lost, and satellite-tracker data showed a sharp drop in altitude—one of them descended by approximately 1,600 m.
The following morning, a search drone located the mountaineers' bodies on the slope. Among the dead were Purja and his companion Kili Pemba Sherpa, with whom Mingma Gyalje made the historic winter ascent of K2 in 2021.
I told them: "It's all right. You don't need to be out here in the cold anymore." I'm here to take you home
The bodies had to be reached on foot
At first, Mingma Gyalje hoped to evacuate the deceased by helicopter, but weather and logistical constraints made this impossible. Therefore, the team set out on foot onto the dangerous slope.
Another avalanche occurred during the operation. One of the bodies was swept farther down, while the others ended up between unstable ice formations. It took the rescuers approximately 5–6 hours to bring them down from the dangerous section.
Purja and Kili were tied together with a single rope. Mingma Gyalje assumed that during the fall they may have repeatedly struck each other, which could have caused their deaths.
The mountaineers' bodies were eventually transported by helicopter to Skardu, from there to Islamabad, and then handed over to their families. The body of another Nepali mountaineer, Nawang Tindu Sherpa, remains on the mountain.
For Mingma Gyalje, this operation became the most difficult of his entire career. After losing his friends, he said that he was now unsure whether he could continue mountaineering.