The group, led by record-breaking mountaineer and former British Marine Nirmal 'Nims' Purja, has been out of contact for several hours since the avalanche struck on Thursday afternoon, the Alpine Club of Pakistan saidRachel Vickers-Price UK and World News Reporter and Zahra Khaliq News Reporter05:37, 31 Jul 2026Record-breaking mountaineer and former British Marine Nirmal 'Nims' Purja hadn’t initially planned to climb Broad Peak before he decided to take on an ill-fated 10-person expedition up the world’s 12th-tallest mountain.‌But he did - and now he and an expedition he was leading made up of nine climbers are missing after an avalanche hit Pakistan 's Broad Peak at noon on Thursday (July 30); the 12th highest mountain in the world.‌Five Nepalese climbers, led by Purja, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi from Hunza, Omani climber Nadhira, American mountaineer Mallory Geis, Chinese climber Mr Wang, and another foreign climber were all on the expedition with Purja. None have been heard from since.‌Rescue efforts that were able to reconvene on Friday local time have seen the recovery of two bodies, understood to be two of the missing 10 climbers - no identities have yet been confirmed.As for Purja, he took to social media platform X - formerly Twitter - to share his thoughts mere days before vanishing atop the Broad Peak in Pakistan's Karakoram mountain range.‌The famed climber wrote: “This was never the plan. Initially, the plan was to climb just G2. But just before setting off for Pakistan, I ran the numbers on my 8000m summits. That’s when it hit me: if I tick off Broad Peak whilst I’m here only one remains: [the world's 6th tallest peak, which borders China and Nepal] Cho Oyu. Then I become the FIRST person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice. Without oxygen.”He went on to add: “Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted. Not one. The moment my foot leaves basecamp, it’s 100%. Always has been. Always will be.”While Purja's July 27 post on X takes on a rather grim tone in light of recent events, hope remains for him still. According to his business parner, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, a tracking device carried by Purja has moved in the wake of the horror snowslide.‌Speaking to the Kantipur Daily on Friday morning, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa - who is a fellow mountaineer and member of Nepal's House of Representatives - said: "Initially, it appeared that he had been swept downhill by the avalanche. But after the point where the tracking had stopped, the location appears to have shifted again."Sherpa added that the tracking data alone could not confirm Purja's condition, but it does provide a glimmer of hope that survivors remain on the mountain.‌The update comes as rescue operations have been already hampered on Friday (July 31) by poor weather and the chances of finding survivors are said to be extremely low, as per to Seven Summit Treks general manager Thaneshwar Guragain. He added that bad weather had already grounded rescue helicopters, forcing search parties to mount an initial ground search instead.As per Alpine Club of Pakistan senior vice-president Karrar Haidri, a rescue chopper is set to fly off from the city of Skardu, located in the Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region, once conditions improve.‌Alpine Club of Pakistan president Major General Irfan Arshad said its leaders were in close contact with government officials to assist with the ongoing search and rescue operation.Arshad said the club was making every effort to send helicopters and other available relief resources to the area as soon as possible.Purja served for 16 years in the British military, including 10 years with UK Special Forces after becoming the first Gurkha to pass the elite SBS selection process. He later achieved global recognition by climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks in a record six months and six days, a feat documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.‌In 2018, he was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his exceptional military service in high-risk environments.According to the Everest Chronicle, the avalanche comes days after Purja completed his 57th successful ascent of a 8,000-metre peak. He completed an oxygenless ascent of Gasherbrum II on July 21. He was also nearing completion of his Hat Trick Campaign to climb all 14 of the 8,000-metre peaks three times over.Article continues belowBut his career has not all been a success - with controversy coming in the form of allegations of sexual assault during expeditions, as reported by The New York Times.Broad Peak is the 12th highest mountain in the world. It stands at an elevation of 8,051 meters (26,414 feet) above sea level and is considered one of the most difficult peaks tackled by climbers.