An ice collapse near the South Summit of Mount Everest has turned out to be more disastrous than initially believed, with officials now reporting at least two climbers missing.
An ice mound had broken off near South Summit on Tuesday morning, sweeping climbers down the northern slope of the world’s highest peak.
British climber Daniel Paul Paterson, 40, and his Sherpa guide Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23, are confirmed to be among the missing from the death zone, Khimlal Gautam, Chief of the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office at the base camp.
“They reached the summit of Everest at 4.40am on Tuesday morning, but lost contact during the descend,” said Gautam.
The duo were part of a 15-member fee-paying team with 8K Expeditions, led by Bolivian climber David Hugo Ayaviri Quispe.
“..Eyewitnesses reported the incident took place between Summit Ridge and South Summit and some climbers were swept away in Kangshung Face..,” Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions posted on Facebook.
“Three climbers were rescued from a few meters below Hillary Step, but we have not been able to confirm the exact number of climbers hit by the ice,” Ngaa Tenji Sherpa, Founder of Summit Force told Everest Chronicle. One of his Sherpa guides was among those rescued in the incident.
The number of fatalities could rise as officials and agencies work to determine the exact count. They will wait until this evening for climbers to descend. The full number of those unaccounted for won’t be known until everyone reaches the lower camp
Ngaa Tenji said Pasang Sherpa, one of the rescued climbers from his company, is expected to arrive at the base camp by Wednesday evening. “We are not sure about the number of rescued climbers either. We hope he can tell more about the incident,” he said.
Lakpa on his Facebook post said that search and rescue teams have been deployed on the ground.
Two Mangolian climbers, who summited Everest without support of Sherpa guides, reached the summit of Everest at 11.57 am of May 13. They went missing after the summit, and were found dead in the death zone.
