Nepal: Bodies of three elite Nepali climbers killed in Broad Peak avalanche arrive in Kathmandu
Kathmandu, August 12
More than 10 days after a massive avalanche swept them off Pakistan's Broad Peak, the remains of three of Nepal's most decorated high-altitude guides and climbers returned home to grieving families.
Emotions ran high at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday as officials brought out the coffins one by one and placed them in a hearse.
Kili Pemba Sherpa, known widely as Kilu, along with Gyalu Sherpa and Nima Sherpa, arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
Relatives, fellow climbers, Nepal Mountaineering Association officials and expedition company representatives gathered as the coffins were unloaded, with family members breaking down beside the caskets. After airport formalities, the bodies made their way to their destination.
The three guides were among 10 climbers killed when an avalanche struck around 9:30 am on July 30 as the group climbed between Camp 2 and Camp 3, roughly 6,600 meters up the 8,051-meter peak, the world's 12th-highest mountain, in Pakistan's Karakoram range.
The entire 10-person international team perished, including British-Nepali climbing star Nirmal Purja, also known as Nimsdai; Pur Bahadur Gurung; Nawang Thindu Sherpa; Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy; Chinese climber Wang Zhong; Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi; and American climber Mallory Geis.
Kili Pemba Sherpa, 46, of Rolwaling Valley in Dolakha district, had built one of the most formidable resumes in Himalayan climbing. He took part in the historic first winter ascent of K2 in January 2021 and, just weeks before his death, completed all fourteen of the world's 8,000-meter peaks with a summit of Nanga Parbat on July 3. He guided for Imagine Nepal.
Gyalu Sherpa, also known as Gyaljen and affiliated with Seven Summit Treks, hailed from Okhaldhunga and had summited Kanchenjunga three times in a single season, a feat many in the climbing world consider record-setting in addition to multiple Everest ascents.
Nima Sherpa, in his mid-30s and from Sankhuwasabha, worked as a senior guide for Elite Exped and had already summited four 8,000-meter peaks in the 2026 season alone before joining the fatal Broad Peak expedition.
Of the five Nepali climbers, the bodies of four have been retrieved from one of the world's most technical mountains. Last week, the body of Pur Bahadur Gurung was repatriated while British-Nepali climber Purja's remains were flown to the United Kingdom, where he held citizenship.
Recovery efforts continue for the three climbers still on the mountain: one Nepali, one Pakistani and one American hampered by difficult high-altitude conditions.
Broad Peak, straddling the border of Pakistan and China in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, has long been considered a serious but comparatively less crowded 8,000-meter objective than nearby K2.
Its exposed upper sections between Camp 2 and Camp 3, however, have been the site of previous avalanche incidents, and mountaineers have noted shifting snowpack conditions in the Karakoram. Some climbers and researchers attributed it to changing weather patterns that have made route assessment increasingly unpredictable in recent seasons.
The scale of the July 30 avalanche, which claimed an entire ten-member team in a single event, is being described by veteran climbers as among the deadliest single incidents in the mountain's history and one of the worst disasters affecting Nepali high-altitude workers since the 2014 Everest icefall avalanche and the 2015 earthquake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp.
— ANI
Reader Comments
It's so tragic that we keep losing these brave souls. Nirmal Purja was an inspiration to millions, and now he's gone too. The changing weather patterns mentioned in the article are concerning—our mountains are becoming more unpredictable. The government needs to do more for the families of these guides.
Om Shanti to the departed souls. 🙏 These sherpas are the backbone of the climbing industry, yet their contributions often go unnoticed until tragedies like this happen. Every time I read about such incidents, I wonder—should we even be climbing these dangerous peaks in the first place? The risks seem too high.
As a Nepali, this hits very close to home. Our guides work in the most dangerous conditions for relatively modest pay, all to support their families. Kili Pemba's achievement of 14 peaks was legendary, but now he's gone. I hope the expedition companies and the government take better care of the families left behind. This is a huge loss for our mountaineering community.
Absolutely devastating loss. These weren't just climbers—they were pioneers who pushed human limits. And the fact that recovery efforts are still ongoing for the other three climbers shows how dangerous this mountain really is. My heart goes out to all the families. The entire nation mourns with them.
Very tragic incident! But I have to say, sometimes I question the ethics of commercial expeditions that push these climbers into such dangerous conditions, especially with changing weather patterns making things more unpredictable. That being said, my deepest condolences to the families of all 10 climbers. The mountains have claimed another heavy toll.