Indian climber dies during Everest bid, 8th death this season

Kathmandu: An Indian climber rescued from Mount Everest has succumbed in hospital, a Nepali tourism official said, taking the number of fatalities this season on the world’s highest mountain to eight.

Forty-six-year-old Banshi Lal was rescued from the mountain last week and taken to a hospital in Nepal’s capital here, media reports said.

“He died at the hospital on Monday,” Rakesh Gurung of the tourism department told the media. Three people – a British climber and two Nepali guides – among the eight are listed as missing but presumed dead.

The latest fatality comes as the Everest mountaineering season nears its end, with the death toll relatively low compared with other years, a report in The Strait Times said.

2023 was the deadliest season on the mountain, with 18 fatalities. Three more died climbing other Nepali peaks, including a Romanian aiming for Lhotse, which neighbours Everest, while a French and a Nepali climber died on Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain.