Renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja is among those who have died after a powerful avalanche on one of the world's highest peaks, his climbing company has confirmed.
The 43-year-old was one of ten climbers missing following the avalanche in Pakistan.
The British-Nepali mountaineer was leading an expedition of the climbers on Broad Peak - the world's 12th highest mountain - in the north of the country when the avalanche struck on Thursday.
Following search efforts which resumed this morning, his company Elite Exped confirmed that Mr Purja was killed.
"It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak," it said in a statement on social media.
"We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive."
Yesterday, the remains of three mountaineers were recovered by search teams.
Those recovered included an American woman, an Omani woman, and a Nepali man, the regional government said in a statement released last night.
Powerful avalanche
The avalanche struck while the mountaineers were on a mission to summit Broad Peak on Thursday while the team were ascending at an altitude of around 6,600 metres, according to regional authorities.
The expedition comprised ten people - including Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a climber from China.
The team were last in contact on Thursday morning, the official statement said, with reports emerging that evening of the powerful avalanche.
"Data from their tracking devices indicates that they were thrown hundreds of metres down the mountainside," Naila Kiani, from Pakistan's Alpine Club, told Le Monde newspaper.
Super peaks
Mr Purja, 43, had written on X this week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 "super peaks" twice without oxygen.
"Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down," he wrote.
Mr Purja, who served with Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas before joining the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines, has broken multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and tour guide.
He climbed all 14 "eight-thousanders" (peaks above 8,000 metres) in six months and six days between April and October 2019 - then a record.
British adventurer Bear Grylls has paid tribute to Mr Purja, writing on Instagram: "Heartbreaking news for so many climbers around the world who had a relationship with this remarkable and unique man.
"We will never forget you Nims and your unstoppable spirit."
Broad Peak is the world's 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000-metre-plus ascents.
It was first summited in 1957 by an Austrian team.
Additional reporting PA
