A Kenyan climber has tragically perished near the summit of Mount Everest, according to officials.

The search and rescue team dispatched by Seven Summit Treks discovered the lifeless body of Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 40, in the stretch between the summit and the Hilary Step. However, his climbing guide, Nawang Sherpa, aged 44, a resident of Khumbu, remains unaccounted for.

Kirui was attempting to summit the peak without supplemental oxygen, and the pair had been out of contact for several hours.

Khimlal Gautam, Chief of the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office of Department of Tourism at the base camp, said that the cause of the death was yet to be ascertained. 

According to the Department, their summit push began on May 18 from the base camp, with the climbers spending the night at Camp 2 on May 19 and Camp 3 on May 22.

In a statement, the Department of Tourism expressed ambiguity regarding whether the Kenyan or his guide successfully reached the summit.

Authorities initially reported the discovery of two bodies by the search and rescue team, later correcting the information to confirm only the retrieval of the Kenyan climber's remains, leaving his guide still missing.

Kirui was part of an expedition organized by Seven Summit Treks, led by Italian climber Matteo Bonalumi. The team included 15 fee-paying members from the United States, Kenya, Turkey, Poland, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, and Russia.

Other members of the expedition were Devon Michael Levesque, Tunc Findik, Benjamin Jonathon Rose, Piotr Jerzy Krzyzowski, Kayla Perez, Oleg Kiriyanov, Cesar Enrique Vazquez Romero, Robert James Hutchinson, Josette Valloton, Jonathan James Kedrowski, Rene Meile, Landry James Warnez, and Daniil Kireev.

This latest incident adds to the recent tragedies on Everest, including the deaths of two Mongolian climbers and a Romanian climber who died on Lhotse, the world’s fourth highest peak that shares route with Everest. Romanian climber Gabriel Viorel Tabara, 48, was found dead in Camp III (7470m) in his tent by his Sherpa guide on Monday, according to his expedition organizer Makalu Adventure. Last week, Mongolian climbers Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 53, and Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 31, were found dead near the summit of Everest, days after they went missing.

Meanwhile, British climber Daniel Paul Paterson, 40, and his Sherpa guide Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23, have been missing from the death zone, according to the Department of Tourism.