A powerful avalanche struck a multinational climbing team near 6600 meters on Broad Peak (8,047m) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range around noon on July 30, 2026, sweeping all 10 members down the mountain and cutting off contact [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

The team included five Nepali climbers led by 43-year-old Nirmal Purja, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, a Chinese climber named Wang Zhong, and one other foreigner [1, 6, 7, 2, 3, 8, 5]. Purja was renowned for scaling all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in a record 189 days in 2019 and was featured in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" [1, 9, 10, 7, 2, 3, 11, 5]. He had expressed his hope for a safe ascent, saying, “布洛德峰，我只求平安登顶和下山。” (Broad Peak, I only wish to climb safely up and down) [9].

Rescue teams from the Pakistani Alpine Club, supported by army helicopters and drones, launched search operations immediately after news of the avalanche broke in the evening of July 30 [12, 9, 3, 11, 4, 8, 5]. Bad weather and the difficult terrain hampered the efforts, forcing suspensions overnight and complicating recovery work [3, 8].

By August 1, three bodies had been recovered, including an American woman, an Omani woman, and a Nepali man. Drone footage showed the possibility of more bodies in the avalanche zone [3, 8, 5]. On August 2, the Pakistani Alpine Club confirmed the deaths of all 10 climbers, including Purja. Several bodies were transported to base camps, and the Chinese embassy confirmed that Wang Zhong, who was pursuing the challenge of climbing all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, was among the deceased [6, 12, 9, 5]. Wang's body was recovered and identified by August 3 along with several Sherpa guides [12, 4].

As of early August, seven climbers were still missing, with ongoing search efforts continuing despite fading hopes due to harsh mountain conditions [3, 5]. Pakistani Alpine Club Chairman Irfan Arshad said, “We hope to continue aerial and ground rescue efforts until survivors or bodies are found” [3].

Broad Peak is the world's 12th highest mountain and is noted as one of the most technically challenging and dangerous of the 8,000-meter peaks [1, 9, 2, 3, 8]. Purja’s expedition company, Elite Exped, called him “one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” expressing deep sorrow over the loss [10]. Prince William also paid tribute, calling Purja “truly exceptional for his relentless pursuit of the seemingly impossible together with humility and selflessness” [9].