No oxygen, no food, no water: ‘Miracle rescue’ for Singapore-based Malaysian climber Chin Wui Kin, who was stranded on Nepal’s Mount Annapurna for two days
- Experienced mountaineer endured freezing conditions after being separated from group while descending from peak
- Chin survived without supplies for more than 40 hours before being spotted by rescue helicopter
A Malaysian climber stranded in the open for two nights on one of the world’s most treacherous mountains was rescued in Nepal on Thursday, expedition organisers said.
Climbing experts said it was a “miracle” that 48-year-old survived the freezing conditions on Mount Annapurna for so long.
Chin reached the top of the 8,100-metre (26,500-foot) Himalayan mountain on Tuesday but failed to return to the nearest camp, 1km (0.6 miles) below the peak, with the rest of his group. He was a part of a 13-member expedition led by a French climber and was separated from the others while descending from the peak.
Frantic efforts began to find him after his guide stumbled to the camp and raised the alert.
“Our team has found him alive. He is conscious,” Thaneshwor Guragain of Seven Summit Treks, which organised the expedition, said.
A rescue helicopter spotted Kin waving from the snowy slopes at an elevation of around 7,500 metres (24,500 feet) early on Thursday, organisers said.
Four experienced Sherpas were then dropped at another camp at 6,500 metres (21,300 feet) to try to reach him.
Mingma Sherpa, the head of Seven Summit Treks, said Chin appeared to be fine but was not in a condition to walk.
Sherpa said Chin would be brought to Kathmandu on Friday. He called the rescue “a miracle” and said the accomplished climber had been without an oxygen bottle, food and water for over 40 hours.
“It’s a big thing to stay alive in that altitude without food, water, and oxygen,” said Sherpa. He said Chin’s medical knowledge and his familiarity with mountains kept him alive.
Chin is a visiting senior anaesthesiology consultant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in Singapore, Channel NewsAsia reported.
He had returned to Nepal after summiting Everest last year.
Hundreds of people from around the world travel to the Himalayas each year for the spring climbing season, when conditions are best.
The 8,091-metre (26,545-foot) Mount Annapurna is the ninth tallest mountain in Nepal and the 10th tallest in the world. It is avalanche-prone, technically difficult and has a higher death rate than Everest, the world’s highest peak.
Nine South Korean climbers were killed last October after a snowstorm swept them off a cliff on Mount Gurja, west of Annapurna.
Additional reporting by Associated Press