Veteran Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja killed in Broad Peak avalanche

Veteran Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja was killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan region, local media reported on Saturday.

Purja, 43, was among a 10-member climbing team caught in the avalanche at an altitude of about 7,000 metres on Thursday while attempting to summit the world's 12th-highest mountain.

His death was confirmed by Elite Expedition in a statement posted on social media, according to the Kathmandu Post. (PTI reported)

A Nepal Mountaineering Association official said three bodies, including that of a Nepalese climber, had been identified, while six others had been located on the mountain.

According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the team comprised six climbers from Nepal and one each from Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China. The group went missing at around 9 a.m. on Thursday after the avalanche struck.

Broad Peak, which rises 8,051 metres in the Karakoram range near K2, is regarded as one of the world's most technically demanding mountains to climb.