A WORLD-famous mountaineer who starred in a hit Netflix documentary has gone missing after a huge avalanche tore through one of the world’s tallest peaks.
Nirmal Purja MBE, known as Nimsdai, is among ten climbers missing after the avalanche struck Pakistan’s Broad Peak on Thursday afternoon.
Mountaineer Nims Purja is among 10 reported missing
The group vanished on Broad Peak which stands 8,051 metres above sea level Credit: Alamy
Purja starred in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, in which he climbed the world’s 8,000 metre-plus mountains in record time
The 43-year-old former Royal Marine was leading a team on the 26,414ft mountain – the world’s 12th highest – when disaster hit.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the group has been out of contact for several hours as a desperate search and rescue mission gets under way.
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Five Nepalese climbers, led by Purja, and Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, from Hunza, are among those believed to have vanished.
Rescuers are racing to reach the remote mountainside as officials scramble to deploy helicopters and other emergency resources.
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In 2018 Nirmal Purja was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for exceptional military service in high-risk environments
A search operation is set to begin to find Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and the others missing Credit: EPA
Major General Irfan Arshad, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said the organisation was working closely with government officials to coordinate the rescue effort.
He said every effort was being made to send helicopters and other available relief resources to the area as quickly as possible.
Broad Peak stands 8,051 metres above sea level and is regarded as one of the toughest mountains in the world to climb.
Purja is one of the world’s best-known mountaineers.
He shot to global fame after climbing all 14 of the world’s mountains higher than 8,000 metres in just 189 days, smashing the previous record.
The astonishing feat was documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible”.
Before becoming a professional climber, Purja served for six years in the elite Gurkha regiment before spending a decade with the UK’s Special Boat Service.
In 2018, he was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for exceptional military service in high-risk environments.
The search for Purja and the other missing climbers remains ongoing.
