Advertisement
Advertisement
Mount Everest, seen from Tibet. Photo: Xinhua

Two die on Everest as good weather lures hundreds of climbers

A climber from Bangladesh and one from South Korea have died on Mount Everest as hundreds flock to the world's highest peak during good weather, Nepalese tourism officials said yesterday. "Both men died while descending from the summit on Monday," an official with the tourism ministry said from Everest Base Camp.

AFP

A climber from Bangladesh and one from South Korea have died on Mount Everest as hundreds flock to the world's highest peak during good weather, Nepalese tourism officials said yesterday.

"Both men died while descending from the summit on Monday," an official with the tourism ministry said from Everest Base Camp.

Both men died while descending from the summit on Monday. The exact cause of death is unknown, but altitude played a part

Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died in his tent a few hours after successfully climbing the summit.

"The exact cause of death is unknown, but altitude played a part," said the official, Gyanendra Shrestha, adding that the bodies would not be recovered until after the summit season ended so as not to interrupt other climbers.

Both men perished in the "death zone" - above 8,000 metres, notorious for its difficult terrain and thin air. Five other climbers have died on the 8,848-metre mountain this season.

Some 300 people have perished trying to reach the summit during the last six decades. The bodies of some of them remain on the mountain.

May is considered the best time for climbing in the Nepalese Himalayas because of mild weather. Around 300 people have reached the top of Everest so far this year. A brawl that erupted last month between three European climbers and Nepalese guides on the mountain cast a shadow over this year's season, which marks the 60th anniversary of the maiden ascent by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.

Meanwhile, Nepali film actress Nisha Adhikari informed officials that she had reached Everest's summit at 8am yesterday.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Two die on Everest as good weather lures hundreds of climbers
Post