Body of famed international climber Nirmal Purja and 3 more found after Pakistan avalanche

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The remains of renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja and three other climbers have been found by a ground team on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains, where a 10-member international expedition was swept away by an avalanche, officials said Sunday.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan identified the recovered climbers as Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa. The club praised military and civilian rescuers and volunteers involved in the recovery effort.

On Friday, rescuers located four other bodies but were able to recover only three — Omani Nathira Ahmed, American Mallory Geis and Nepalese Bahadur Gurung — because harsh weather grounded search-and-rescue helicopters.

Military-backed rescue teams resumed the search Sunday for the two remaining climbers, while efforts continued to bring down the bodies of Purja and the three others found by the ground team, local officials said.

On Saturday, Purja’s expedition company said the world had lost one of mountaineering’s greats. The company described him as “a leader who inspired millions through his courage, humility and unwavering belief that human potential is far greater than we often imagine.”

Alpine Club of Pakistan President Irfan Arshad Khan said the tragedy was “an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity.” He paid tribute to military and civilian rescuers and Sherpas who took part in the search mission.

The expedition was led by Purja, the Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai.

He climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.

A statement from Geis’ family said, “Mallory was a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends. She will be profoundly missed.”

The expedition was expected to be the last one for Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, who worked with Moving Mountains, a Pakistan-based adventure travel company. Sakhi also was a geographer and high-altitude photographer who had climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to the company’s website. His body remained missing on Sunday.

Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather.

Riaz Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.

In this photo released by the Alpine Club of Pakistan on Friday, July 31, 2026, members of a mountaineers rescue team pose for photo with honorary general secretary of Alpine Club of Pakistan Ayaz Ahmed Shigri, center, before departing from an airbase on a search operation for climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak, in Skardu, in Gilgit-Baltistan's region, in northern Pakistan. (Alpine Club of Pakistan via AP)

In this photo released by the Alpine Club of Pakistan on Friday, July 31, 2026, members of a mountaineers rescue team prepare to depart from an airbase on a search operation for climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak, in Skardu, in Gilgit-Baltistan's region, in northern Pakistan. (Alpine Club of Pakistan via AP)

FILE - Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who became the fastest climber of the world's 14 highest peaks, arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno said his former son-in-law, U.S Rep. Max Miller, should not be serving in the House and should “seek professional help” as Miller defended himself against allegations of domestic abuse in a live video on X Sunday.

Moreno, who has been restrained in recent months as the bitter custody dispute has played out between Miller and his daughter Emily, said in a lengthy post that “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”

Moreno wrote that Miller “needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."

Miller said Sunday that he will remain in his race for re-election before a Wednesday deadline to replace him. Democrats have seen a new opportunity in his northeast Ohio congressional seat as the Republican incumbent has faced mounting pressure over domestic abuse allegations in a bitter and drawn-out custody battle with ex-wife Emily Moreno.

Accusations against Miller, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump and was a White House adviser during Trump's first term, have been public for years but have recently drawn increased scrutiny as back and forth in the case has escalated.

“I’m not dropping out of this race and I’ll win in November,” said Miller, who denied abusing his former wife and his daughter.

Emily Moreno has said that Miller scalded, hit and threatened her while they were married. He denied those allegations in the video, as he has in the past. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Miller also said he had nothing to do with a broken collarbone on their 2-year-old daughter that led Emily Moreno to contact authorities. The pair, who were married in 2022 and finalized their divorce last year, have presented different theories about how the injury occurred, according to court filings and police reports detailed in an article in the magazine Mother Jones that first revealed the child’s injury.

Miller accompanied his announcement with the release of a voluminous cache of investigative and court documents related to the custody dispute, as well as what he described as “additional evidence” not previously released to the public.

A spokesperson for Emily Moreno, Stefan Mychajliw, said Sunday that the video was “shameful.”

“No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career,” Mychajliw said. "Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court.”

Miller did not address years-old abuse allegations by his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Grisham, who brought fresh litigation against him in July claiming he violated a court settlement between them not to disparage each other.

Democrats have recently called on Miller to resign, requested a congressional ethics investigation and suggested more help could be directed in the fall toward his Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter.

FILE - Rep.-elect Max Miller, R-Ohio, arrives for new member orientation check-in and program registration with Emily Moreno in Washington, Nov. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)