Sherpa rescuer dies on Everest, ill Army officer in stable condition

This is the fourth fatality on world's highest mountain this season.

May 16, 2023 | Everest Chronicle

A Nepali Sherpa guide on Tuesday died while descending the summit of Everest, basecamp sources said.

Phurba Sherpa breathed his last near Camp III, confirmed an official at the Department of Tourism. He was one of the members of the Mountain Clean-up Campaign expedition, who summited Everest Monday morning.

This is the fourth fatality on the world's highest mountain this climbing season. Earlier, three Sherpa guides were washed into Khumbu crevasses by a breakaway serac, while an American doctor died in Camp II during his acclimatization rotation. 

Another member of the expedition team Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri has been ill from South Summit. Khatri, however, has been brought down to Camp III safely. He is in stable condition.

Rescue helicopter could not fly today. Khatri will be rescued from high camp early tomorrow.

The duo were members of the Mountain Clean-up Campaign, a regular clean-up campaign of Nepal Army. They fell ill from South Summit while descending from the top of the world. 

Death of an experienced Sherpa climber is a reminder of the risk involved in climbing the mountain. Nepal has issued a record 478 climbing permits for Everest. Many fears possibility of traffic jam on the way up to the summit.

A huge number of climbers started heading out to the summit aiming to reach Wednesday morning, which is forecasted as an ideal day for climb. 

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