Kathmandu, May 22 (IANS) Two Indian mountaineers, Arun Kumar Tiwari and Sandeep Are, died while descending from Mount Everest, a senior official at Nepal’s Department of Tourism said on Friday.
Himal Gautam, Director of the Department of Tourism, told IANS that the climbers died as they were descending after conquering the peak of the world’s tallest mountain as per the reports received from the Everest Base Camp.
“The exact cause of their deaths is not yet known,” Gautam said.
Both climbers summited Everest on May 21 and fell ill during their descent, according to the local media reports.
Tiwari died near the Hillary Step, just below the summit, while being assisted by four Sherpa climbers during the descent, Nivesh Karki, Director of Pioneer Adventures, which organised their expedition, told local news portal The Himalayan Times.
Are suffered snow blindness immediately after reaching the summit and was rescued from the South Summit. However, he died at Camp II after being brought down by five Sherpa rescuers.
The death toll on Everest this spring climbing season has now reached five, while the total number of fatalities in Nepal’s Himalayan mountains stands at seven, according to the tourism department.
Earlier, three Nepali climbers had died on Mt. Everest during this season.
According to Gautam, nearly 600 climbers — including permit holders and Sherpa guides — had summited Everest by Thursday.
Nepal has issued permits to 492 foreign climbers for Everest this season, the highest number ever recorded for a spring climbing season. Despite flight disruptions caused by the conflict in West Asia involving the United States and Iran, as well as an increase in Nepal’s royalty fees, the appeal of reaching the world’s highest peak continues to attract mountaineers from around the world.
Meanwhile, veteran mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa received a grand welcome in Kathmandu on Friday upon returning to the capital after successfully scaling Mount Everest for a record 32nd time, extending his own world record.
According to expedition officials, the 56-year-old reached the summit at 10:12 a.m. on May 17, setting another milestone in Everest climbing history.
–IANS
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