Netflix star Nirmal Purja sent heartbreaking voice note from halfway up mountain before avalanche
Concerns are growing for perhaps the world's best known mountaineer Nirmal Purja after he was confirmed to have been involved in the avalanche in Pakistan.
Purja, who starred in the 2021 Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible was among a group of 10 people climbing Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain in the world.
After the avalanche struck, a search operation was almost immediately launched and the bodies of two men from Nepal and Pakistan respectively have already been recovered.
Speaking to the Daily Express, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign affairs said: "The Ministry has received assurances from the Pakistani authorities that they would mobilise all available resources for timely search and rescue operations."
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The 43-year-old Nepalese mountaineer is world famous among the climbing community and was set to make history with his ascent up Broad Peak, but now there are significant fears for his life as he remains missing after the avalanche early this morning.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan has since confirmed that 'seven climbers have been spotted via aerial drone footage' adding that 'their identities and condition cannot yet be verified'.
Despite being half-way up the mountain at the time, Purja still made the time to respond to NDTV reporter Vishnu Som's message with a voice note, which is currently believed to be the last official communication from him.
In it, he said: "Hey brother, greetings and namaste. Right now, I am on Camp 2 of Broad Peak which is among 8,000-metre (26,247 foot) mountains.
"I am now running for my 58th summit of 8,000-metre peaks, which is the highest in the world. I just opened the internet to check the weather forecast. But this message got downloaded as well.
"I will be in touch after the summit. But if there is anything, please leave the message, what you are thinking [about the event where I had invited him]... all that. I will also be connecting with Vicky who manages all my diaries and stuff. That will make it easier to move things forward.
"Hope you guys are well and it's great to be connected. Thank you guys and greetings from Camp 2 on Broad Peak. Ciao Ciao."
Broad Peak has proven to be deadly in the past, with six fatalities recorded there in 2013 alone, and sadly the Alpine Club of Pakistan have suggested that the survival chances for the climbers are 'very slim'.
However, if anyone has a chance of survival it is Purja, as the former British Army and Royal Navy man climbed all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre-plus mountains in just over six months back in 2019.
Purja also left an emotional message on his Instagram account before this morning's avalanche, and those close to the mountaineer will be praying that its not his last.
He wrote: "This was never the plan. Initially, the plan was to climb just G2. But just before setting off for Pakistan, I ran the numbers on my 8000m summits.
"That’s when it hit me: if I tick off Broad Peak whilst I’m here , only one remains 'Cho Oyu'. Then I become the FIRST person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice. Without oxygen.
"This wasn’t planned. The Hattrick project was the focus because it carried a bigger mission. But opportunities don’t scream: they whisper to those already working in silence."
"My only battle was against the man I was yesterday," Purja continued. "Every single day, pushing my own limits. Because the moment you look sideways: at what others are doing, saying, achieving: you drift off your compass.
"Your heading is YOURS. Guard it fiercely. They criticised me when I climbed the 14 without O’s during Project Possible.
"If you haven’t seen what that took, watch 14 Peaks on Netflix. That film is the unfiltered truth.
"I was there doing multiple rescues of climbers left behind by other expeditions, raising the funds myself, leading from the front, fixing our own lines, dealing with the Shishapangma permit with China, being at hospitals for my mum’s operation and so much more. And now? Now I’m heading for the double without oxygen: triple in total. The noise hasn’t stopped. I just stopped listening."
James Moorhouse