A Romanian climber died in Camp III (7470m) on Monday morning; officials confirmed.
Gabriel Viorel Tabara, 48, was found dead in his tent by his Sherpa guide, according to his expedition organizer Makalu Adventure.
“Gabriel and his Sherpa guide had a normal day, and went into their tents as climber usually do. But Gabriel did not wake up next norming,” Mohan Lamsal, owner of the company, told Everest Chronicle quoting his Sherpa guide.
Khimlal Gautam, Chief of the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office, confirmed his death. “We have asked details about the incident,” said Gautam.
According to Lamsal, the company sent five Sherpa as soon as his base camp manager informed him about the incident on Monday. Dawa Sherpa, one of the guides, reached the camp early today, who confirmed his death, according to Lamsal.
Gabriel is the season’s third casualty in the world’s highest mountain. About 400 climbers reached the summit of Everest by Tuesday, according to Gautam. Over 160 climbers were in final summit push for Everest on Tuesday alone.
Gabriel was in the mountain for over two months as he was planning to scale Lhotse without supplemental oxygen. He had completed acclimatization and several rounds of rotation in preparation for summit push.
“It certainly is not the lack of oxygen, as people do not consume oxygen at Camp III. We can be sure about the cause of death only after autopsy,” Lamsal said.
His company is set to evacuate the body from Camp III tomorrow and bring it to Kathmandu.
