A photograph believed to be the final image of mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team before a fatal avalanche has appeared online. The picture, posted by a Pakistan-based tour operator, shows Purja and nine other climbers on Broad Peak shortly before the incident on July 30. The operator stated the image was taken just before the disaster struck. Footage from base camp captured a large avalanche descending the slope and covering the climbers. A search operation followed on the 8,047-metre peak in the Karakoram range. Four bodies have been recovered, including those of an American, an Omani and a Nepalese climber. Purja, known for climbing all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks in under seven months, led the expedition. His company confirmed his death. Days earlier he had posted that adding Broad Peak would bring him close to repeating the full set of summits without oxygen.
