Netflix Star, Texas Climber Among Those Missing in Avalanche

On Friday, rescue teams in northern Pakistan continued searching for the unaccounted climbers after the avalanche struck its expedition on Broad Peak the day before.

Rachel Acenas

Published: 7/31/2026, 3:03:03 PM EDT

Netflix Star, Texas Climber Among Those Missing in Avalanche — Nirmal Purja, one of the team member of the all-Nepalese mountaineering team that became the first to scale Mount K2 in winter, gestures as the team arrives at Tribhuwan International airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Jan. 26, 2021. (Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A massive avalanche on one of the world’s highest mountains has left a group of international climbers missing, including a Netflix star and a mountaineer from Texas.

On Friday, rescue teams in northern Pakistan continued searching for the unaccounted climbers after the avalanche struck on Broad Peak the day before.

Among those missing is renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, whose record-breaking ascent of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in just over six months was chronicled in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. The former British Army Gurkha and Special Boat Service soldier has led commercial expeditions through his company, Elite Exped. Purja was the leader of the expedition on Broad Peak, according to officials.

American climber Mallory Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, is also among those unaccounted for. She was attempting her first climb of an 8,000-meter peak. Geis announced in a Feb. 20 social media post that she was closing her Pilates studio to embark on a new adventure and pursue bigger dreams.

“Taking a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved,” she wrote on Instagram.

Late last month, Pakistan-based travel company Moving Mountains said the expedition team of international climbers was en route to the small town of Askole ahead of its Broad Peak climb.

Pakistan's Alpine Club said the group of 10 international mountaineers on the expedition included climbers and support staff from Nepal, Pakistan, the United States, China and Oman.

In its latest update on Friday, the club said two bodies have been recovered from the site. Seven climbers have been spotted by drone, but their identities and condition "cannot be verified." Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi has not yet been spotted, officials said.

"Please refrain from declaring anyone dead until rescuers have physically confirmed the situation," the club wrote on social media. "The Government of Pakistan, the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Government of Nepal, and the Pakistan Army are all engaged in the rescue mission."

NTD reached out to the club seeking additional information but did not receive a response by publication.

Broad Peak is considered one of Pakistan's most challenging climbs. It’s the world's 12th-highest mountain and lies just five miles from K2, the world's second-highest peak after Mount Everest.

According to officials, the climbers lost contact with base camp after the avalanche swept through the upper part of the mountain.

Sajid Hussain, deputy director of the tourism department in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, said the search was focused on a “remote and difficult area" but said he remains "hopeful for the safe recovery of the missing climbers."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.