2LT International News

KATHMANDU, Nepal: An Indian climber and a Filipino climber were the first to die on Mount Everest during the current climbing season from March to May, officials said this week.

Subrata Ghosh, a 45-year-old from India, died on May 15 while coming down after reaching the top of Everest, which is 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) high. He died near the Hillary Step, a dangerous area close to the summit.

“He refused to come down from just below the Hillary Step,” said Bodhraj Bhandari from the trekking company that organized the climb. There are no further details yet.

The Hillary Step is located in the “death zone”—a region of the mountain above 8,000 meters (26,250 feet) where there is insufficient oxygen for humans to survive for long.

Efforts are being made to bring Ghosh’s body down to base camp. The cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy, Bhandari added.

The other climber, Philipp II Santiago, also 45, from the Philippines, died late on May 14 at the South Col while climbing up. According to tourism official Himal Gautam, Santiago was very tired when he reached Camp Four and died while resting in his tent.

Both Ghosh and Santiago were part of the same international climbing group led by Bhandari.

Nepal has issued 459 permits for Everest climbs this season, which concludes in May. To date, nearly 100 climbers and their guides have reached the summit.

Climbing and trekking are significant sources of income for Nepal, a country that is among the world’s poorest.

Over the past 100 years, at least 345 people have died on Everest, according to official records.

File photo | Nirmal Purja