Body of second missing Mongolian climber found on Everest
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The two men were climbing without guides and their walkie-talkie had been found in their tent.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KATHMANDU – Rescuers found the body of a second Mongolian climber who went missing on Mount Everest, expedition organisers said on May 19, confirming the second fatality on the world’s highest peak this mountaineering season.
Mr Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 53, and Mr Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 31, were last in contact on the evening of May 12 from Camp 4, which is situated less than 1km below the summit.
Mr Tsedendamba’s body was found around an altitude of 8,600m on May 17 after days of search and rescue operations that had been hampered by bad weather.
“The second body was also found on Friday, but needed verification. We confirmed it was him yesterday,” a spokesman for 8k Expeditions, which organised the duo’s climbing permits and base camp stay, told AFP.
“We are trying to bring the bodies down,” he added.
Four guides had been sent for their search and rescue.
Mr Lkhagvajav’s body was found near an area called the balcony, a small platform at an elevation of around 8,400m.
The spokesman said that two men were climbing without guides and that their walkie-talkie had been found in their tent.
Nepal’s tourism department said in a statement on May 14 that another team had spotted the pair “heading towards Everest’s summit” on the morning of May 13.
Hundreds of climbers have flocked to Nepal – home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks – for summits in the spring climbing season when temperatures are warmer and winds are typically calm.
Nepal has issued more than 900 permits for its mountains in 2024, including 419 for Everest, earning more than $5 million (S$6.7 million) in royalties.
Around 80 climbers have already reached the 8,849m summit of Everest after a rope-fixing team reached the peak in April.
Two climbers died on nearby Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak, in 2024.
French climber Johnny Saliba, 60, died at an altitude of 8,120m during his summit push last week.
A 53-year-old Nepali guide died on the same peak last week while descending from the summit. AFP
