Renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja remained among six climbers missing on Friday after an avalanche struck Pakistan’s Broad Peak, where rescuers recovered four bodies and continued an intensive search operation involving military helicopters despite adverse weather.The avalanche hit the 8,051-metre Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region on Thursday as a 10-member expedition was making its summit push. Officials said the climbers were swept away at an altitude of around 7,000 metres, triggering a multinational rescue effort.Pakistan’s Alpine Club confirmed that four bodies have been recovered, although only two have been officially identified—Oman’s Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy and Nepal’s Pur Bahadur Gurung. Authorities are yet to identify the remaining two victims.Purja, 43, is among the six climbers still missing. The remaining missing climbers include Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa (all from Nepal), Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Mallory Geis of the United States and Wang Zhong of China. Officials said the expedition included climbers from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the US and China.Army helicopters battle bad weather in high-altitude rescueSearch operations continued throughout Friday in what Pakistan’s tourism authorities described as a remote and extremely difficult section of the mountain. Two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters have been deployed, but officials said bad weather and the high-altitude terrain have severely restricted rescue efforts.GPS data suggests climbers were swept nearly 1,000 metres downhillThe Alpine Club of Pakistan said GPS coordinates transmitted before contact was lost suggested the avalanche swept the climbers nearly 1,000 metres downhill, raising fears about their survival.“We remain hopeful for the safe recovery of the missing climbers,” the club said, adding that the team has been out of communication since the avalanche.Story continues below this adNepal, China coordinate with Pakistan as families await updatesThe incident has prompted diplomatic coordination across several countries. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said six of the missing climbers were Nepali nationals and that Pakistani authorities had assured Kathmandu that all available resources were being mobilised for the rescue.China said it was urgently verifying the status of its citizen and was prepared to assist Pakistan if needed.Friends and relatives of the missing climbers have also begun travelling to Pakistan. Mingma David Sherpa, a business partner of Purja, said he was heading to the country after learning of the accident.Broad Peak: One of Pakistan’s toughest and deadliest mountainsBroad Peak, located near K2 in the Karakoram range, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is regarded as one of Pakistan’s most technically demanding climbs. Pakistan’s summer climbing season, which runs from June to August, is frequently disrupted by avalanches and rapidly changing weather.Story continues below this adWho is Nirmal Purja? The climber behind ‘Project Possible’Purja, popularly known as “Nims Dai,” is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest high-altitude climbers. A former member of Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Marines’ elite Special Boat Service, he achieved global fame in 2019 after climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in just six months and six days under his Project Possible expedition. His feat was later chronicled in the 2021 Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” Nirmal Purja, attempting a record to climb fourteen 8000-meter mountain peaks in seven months, speaks during a news conference after climbing six mountains, including Mt. Everest, in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 28, 2019. (REUTERS)He was also part of the historic Nepali team that completed the first successful winter ascent of K2 in 2021.As the search entered its second day, hopes of finding survivors remained, but rescuers acknowledged that harsh weather, difficult terrain and the passage of time were making the operation increasingly challenging.(With inputs from Reuters, PTI)