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Nirmal Purja

Nirmal Purja, the Nepali mountaineer whose 2019 ascent of all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks in under seven months redefined the sport's speed records, is missing on Broad Peak following an avalanche. Search operations are under way. This account sets out what has been confirmed, what has not, and why the search is unusually difficult even by Karakoram standards.

• An avalanche occurred on Broad Peak, the world's twelfth-highest mountain at 8,051 metres, on the Pakistani side of the Karakoram range.
• Purja is among those unaccounted for. Other climbers were affected; the full number has not been confirmed by Pakistani authorities.
• Helicopter reconnaissance and ground search by climbers already on the mountain are both under way, weather permitting.
• No confirmation of the outcome has been issued by his team or by Pakistani officials at the time of writing.