Spencer Matthews praying for miracle during search for climbers
By Jordan Reynolds and Pierra Willix, Press Association
Former reality TV star Spencer Matthews said he is praying “for a miracle” as the search continues for a group of mountaineers led by a renowned British climber who went missing in Pakistan after an avalanche.
Nirmal Purja, known as Nims – who was born in Nepal and served in the British Army and Royal Marines, was leading an expedition of 10 climbers on Broad Peak – the world’s 12th highest mountain – in the north of the country when the avalanche struck at about midday on Thursday.
Mr Purja previously appeared with Mr Matthews in the 2023 documentary Finding Michael, which followed the expedition to Mount Everest in search of the former Made In Chelsea star’s late brother, Michael, who disappeared there in 1999.
Rescuers have managed to recover some of those who went missing as they resumed their search on Saturday, supported by military helicopters.
Mr Matthews shared a photo with the mountaineer on Instagram and said the news from Broad Peak was “heartbreaking”.
Separately, he shared a story on Instagram urging people not to share “assumptions and news” on social media about what had happened in Pakistan, alongside his own broken heart emoji.
The 37-year-old said in the post: “The mountains inspire us with their beauty but they also demand immense respect.
“Every person who ventures into that world understands the risks, yet they go anyway, driven by curiosity, purpose, passion, and a deep love for the places few will ever experience.
“The news from Broad Peak is heartbreaking. So many lives, families, friends and teammates now facing unimaginable loss.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
“May those who have been lost be remembered not only for how they died, but for how they lived, the courage they showed, and the lived they touched.
“Rest in peace.
“To those not yet found, we pray for a miracle.”
Along with Bear Grylls, Mr Purja was enlisted by Mr Matthews to help recover the body of his brother Michael, the youngest Briton to summit Everest who disappeared on the mountain in 1999.
Despite searching with a team, they did not locate Michael.
Mr Purja rose to prominence in 2019 when he climbed all 14 of the world’s mountains with peaks above 8,000 metres (26,247ft) in 189 days – smashing the previous record by more than seven years.
The challenge was the focus of a Netflix documentary called 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.
Mr Purja, 43, powered to the top of the mountains, each with peaks in the so-called “death zone”, starting with Annapurna on April 23 2019 and taking in Everest in May and K2 in July.
At the time, he said: “It has been a gruelling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity.
“I could not have made it happen without the unending support of my friends and family who have been in my heart this entire time. We started with nothing, but look how far we’ve come.”
Mr Purja served in the British military for 16 years, ten of which were spent in the special forces, and he was awarded an MBE by the late Queen in 2018 for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.
The cold weather warfare specialist said he was the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military.
In 2016, he broke mountaineering conventions to rescue a climber left in the “Everest death zone”, bringing her to safety alone.
Mr Purja is one of five Nepalese climbers in the missing group, as well as mountaineers from Pakistan, Oman, the US and China and one foreign national from an unspecified country.