2 Indian climbers die of exhaustion while descending Everest
What's the story
Two Indian climbers, Arun Kumar Tiwari and Sandeep Are, died while descending from Mount Everest after successfully summiting the world's highest peak. The deaths have raised this climbing season's death toll to five. Rishi Bhandari, Secretary General of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, confirmed to PTI that Are reached the summit on Wednesday, while Tiwari did so on Thursday around 5:30pm.
Rescue attempts
Are died on Thursday, Tiwari on Friday
Both climbers faced severe exhaustion during their descent, despite the best efforts of Sherpa guides. Are died on Thursday after becoming critically fatigued during his return journey. He was rescued from the Balcony area to South Col overnight but could not be saved. Tiwari, who was descending with two experienced Sherpa guides after summiting Everest, became exhausted near Hillary Step and could not be brought down safely despite repeated rescue attempts.
Record ascent
Death toll rises to 5
The latest fatalities bring the death toll on Mount Everest this season to five, following the deaths of three Nepali climbers earlier in the expedition period. Notably, a record 274 climbers reached the summit from Nepal on Wednesday, setting a new record for the highest number of ascents in one day during an Everest climbing season. This achievement broke the previous record of 223 summits in May 2019.
Climbing permits
Over 500 climbers received permits for Everest summit attempt
Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, issues hundreds of climbing permits every year. Everest expeditions are a major source of tourism revenue for the Himalayan country. This season, a total of 502 climbers have received permits to attempt the Everest summit during the spring expedition season.