Nepali mountain guide dies in Mt. Qomolangma region

Kathmandu, May 12 : A Nepali mountain guide passed away in the course of acclimatisation in the Mount Qomolangma region, said a government official.

He died on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bijay Ghimire, 35, who had successfully been to the 8,848.86-meter peak three times in 2016, 2019 and 2023, died of altitude sickness. "He died while performing his responsibility as a mountain guide," said Himal Gautam, information officer at the Department of Tourism, in a statement on Monday evening.

The department has issued a record 492 permits to climbers to conquer the peak this spring season.

Earlier on May 5, two climbers -- an Indian mountaineer and a Sherpa guide -- were injured after a serac collapse along the Khumbu Icefall route on Mt. Everest hit them, Nepal's Department of Tourism said.

The injured have been identified as Nimish Kumar Singh, 40, from India, and Pembha Tenduk Sherpa, 44, a mountain guide from Nepal.

According to the department, the incident occurred at around 5:45 a.m. on Tuesday when a serac collapse caused falling ice to reach the main climbing route, striking members of the expedition team.

A serac is a large, unstable block or pinnacle of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier's surface or on steep icefalls.

At the time of the incident, permit-holding climbers and Sherpa guides from multiple expedition agencies were heading toward Camp I from Camp II via the Khumbu Icefall as part of the acclimatisation process. They had earlier reached Camp II after ascending from Everest Base Camp.

The Khumbu Icefall, one of the most hazardous sections of the Everest climbing route, is known for frequent ice shifts and serac collapses, particularly during the early climbing season.

Immediately after the incident, a team of Sherpa guides from Pioneer Adventure Pvt. Ltd. and Summit Force Expedition carried out a prompt rescue and informed officials stationed at Everest Base Camp.

From the base camp, a team from Seven Summit Trek Pvt. Ltd. quickly coordinated a helicopter evacuation. At around 6:30 a.m., a helicopter arrived at the incident site from Lukla airport near Mt. Everest and airlifted the injured to Kathmandu for treatment.

Nepal has attracted a large number of mountaineers this spring season, particularly those attempting to climb Mt. Everest, despite the government raising the royalty fee for climbers to $15,000 from $11,000 per person and flight disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia between the United States and Iran.