Katmandu: Nepal was mourning Saturday the loss of mountaineer Nirmal Purja, with Prime Minister Balendra Shah leading the nation in paying tributes to the braveheart who etched his name in record books.
The 43-year-old British-Nepali mountaineer was killed alongside nine other climbers after they were caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, his expedition company said.
“No words can erase the pain of this unimaginable loss,” Elite Expeditions said in a statement.
Purja, who served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas before joining the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines, broke multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and guide.
In 2019, he stunned the climbing fraternity by scaling the world’s 14 highest peaks in just over six months, smashing the previous record of seven years.
