Mongolian climbers missing on Everest: one confirmed dead, one still missing
The search and rescue team has found one body while the search for the other missing climber is still ongoing near the summit of Mount Everest.
One of the two Mongolian climbers who went missing near the summit of Mount Everest four days ago has been found dead, according to expedition agencies.
Lhakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions said that the body of Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 53, was discovered at 8,750 meters. "It appears he died while returning from the summit," said Lhakpa.
Sherpa also mentioned that the body of another climber, Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 31, is still missing. "Our team searched from the Hillary Step to the summit and also checked on the Tibetan slope but couldn't find him," said Sherpa.
Rakesh Gurung, chief of the mountaineering section at the Department of Tourism, also confirmed the finding of one body and added that the search is ongoing for the second climber.
The missing status of the second climber has surprised the expedition agency and DoT officials, who had received information from climbers from Makalu Adventure that they had seen two bodies on Wednesday morning.
8K Expedition had deployed Pechhumbe Sherpa, Ming Nurbu Sherpa, Arjun Karki, and Lanka Ram Tamang for the search and rescue. The two climbers went out of contact with the expedition's base camp manager on Sunday and were last sighted by a team from TAG Nepal at 8:45 AM on May 13. The duo was part of a nine-member Mongolian expedition organized by 8K Expedition.
According to 8K Expedition, the climbers had only paid for base camp services and bottled oxygen and were climbing on their own without Sherpa assistance. Meanwhile, the relatives of the two climbers, who are currently in Kathmandu, have been pressing authorities about why the search and rescue team was not sent while some climbers were doing summit pushes despite the bad weather.
It is understood that the agency is planning to bring back Tsedendamba's body.
