The last known photograph of legendary British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja and his expedition team has surfaced online, offering a haunting glimpse of the climbers moments before they were engulfed by a massive avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Karakoram range.The image was shared by Pakistan-based tour operator Karakoram Vision, which said it was captured on July 30, shortly before the avalanche struck the 8,051-metre Broad Peak, one of the world’s 14 eight-thousanders.Alongside the photograph, the company also posted a video on Instagram, claiming it showed the 10-member international expedition making its ascent while being observed from the base camp.”Our team captured this footage yesterday, July 30, right before tragedy struck. We were watching from base camp and could clearly see the 10 international climbers — including world-famous mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja — pushing up the mountain,” Karakoram Vision wrote.The operator said a massive avalanche suddenly broke loose above the climbers.”After the snow cleared, we scanned the upper slopes with horror. No one was visible anymore. It’s a big tragedy on Broad Peak,” the post added.Nims Purja among 10 climbers killedThe avalanche struck at an altitude of approximately 5,700 metres, killing Purja, 43, and nine members of his international expedition. Contact with the team was lost immediately after the disaster.On Jattvibeday, rescuers recovered Purja’s body after a difficult ground operation in hazardous conditions.”The ground rescue team has reached Nims Dai (Purja) at approximately 5,700 m on Broad Peak — a mountain he loved, and a mountain that has now taken him from us,” the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a social media post.According to the club’s General Secretary Ayaz Shigri, rescuers are transporting four bodies down the mountain, including those of Purja, two other Nepali climbers and a Chinese national.Shigri also confirmed that another body had been located at a much higher elevation.”Due to the extremely hazardous terrain and prevailing conditions, it is unlikely that a recovery attempt will be made at this stage,” he said.No survivors in expeditionPurja’s expedition company confirmed on Saturday that none of the team members survived the avalanche.Earlier, authorities had recovered and airlifted the bodies of three climbers — an Omani woman, a Nepali man and an American woman — to Skardu.The identities of all victims have not yet been officially released by authorities.Global tributes pour inThe tragedy has sent shockwaves through the global mountaineering community, particularly in Nepal, where Purja was celebrated as one of the country’s greatest climbers.Tributes have poured in from across the world, including from Prince William, who expressed condolences to the families of those killed.Purja was widely regarded as one of the most accomplished mountaineers of his generation. He gained international fame after completing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in just over six months in 2019, a feat that redefined high-altitude climbing and was documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.