The body of second missing Mongolian climber has been found on Everest.
Rescuers have found the body of the second Mongolian climber who went missing on Mount Everest, expedition organizers announced on Sunday, confirming the second fatality on the world’s highest peak this mountaineering season.
Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 53, and Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 31, were last heard from on Sunday evening at Camp 4, positioned less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) below the summit.
Tsedendamba’s body was discovered at an altitude of approximately 8,600 meters (28,215 feet) on Friday morning following several days of search and rescue operations, which had been significantly hindered by inclement weather conditions.
“The second body was also found on Friday, but needed verification. We confirmed it was him yesterday,” Pemba Sherpa of 8k Expeditions, the organization responsible for arranging the climbers’ permits and base camp accommodations, told AFP.
Rescuers found the body of a second Mongolian climber who went missing on Mount Everest, confirming the second fatality on the world’s highest peak this mountaineering seasonhttps://t.co/F5GM6ElcM6 pic.twitter.com/iMhLm4lI97
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 19, 2024
Efforts are currently underway to bring the bodies down from the mountain.
Four guides were deployed in the search and rescue mission.
Lkhagvajav’s body was located near an area known as the balcony, a small platform at around 8,400 meters (27,560 feet).
Sherpa noted that the two men were climbing without guides, and their walkie-talkie had been left in their tent.
Nepal’s tourism department issued a statement on Tuesday indicating that another team had spotted the pair “heading towards Everest’s summit” on Monday morning.
This spring climbing season has seen hundreds of climbers flock to Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, to take advantage of warmer temperatures and typically calm winds.
Nepal has issued more than 900 permits for its mountains this year, including 419 for Everest, generating over $5 million in royalties.
Approximately 80 climbers have already reached Everest’s 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit this season, following a rope-fixing team that made it to the peak last month.
However, the inherent dangers of high-altitude mountaineering remain starkly evident.
This year, two climbers have also died on nearby Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak.
French climber Johnny Saliba, 60, perished at an altitude of 8,120 meters (26,640 feet) during his summit attempt last week, and a 53-year-old Nepali guide died while descending from the same peak.
