India, July 31 -- Nepal's veteran mountaineer Nirmal Purja is among 10 climbers who have gone missing after an avalanche struck an expedition on Pakistan's Broad Peak, prompting rescue efforts that have been hampered by adverse weather, officials said on Friday.

Broad Peak (8,051 metres), located in Pakistan's Karakoram range near K2, is the world's 12th-highest mountain and is considered one of the most challenging peaks to climb.

The climbers -- five from Nepal, including Purja, and five foreign nationals -- have been missing since around 9 am local time on Thursday after an avalanche hit the team at an altitude of about 7,000 metres on Broad Peak, Raj Bahadur Lama, General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said.

The...