Nepalese sherpas have found four more dead climbers in a camp on Mount Everest, taking the death toll on the world’s highest mountain to 10 in the past month, officials say.
The bodies of the four climbers were found overnight inside two tents at Camp Four, located at 8,000 metres, Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks group to which the sherpas belonged said in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
It was not clear how they died and their identities had not been established, Mr Mingma, who like many sherpas is known by his first name, said.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said it was windy on the mountain on Tuesday.
Ten climbers have died on Mount Everest, including one on the Chinese side, during this climbing season, which ends this month.
The sherpas who discovered the bodies were on their way to retrieve the body of Vladimir Strba of Slovakia who died near the 8,850 metre summit on the weekend, along with three others including Australian Francesco Enrico Marchetti.
This season’s dead also include an 85-year-old man hoping to be the oldest person to summit Everest and famed Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck.
Mr Strba’s body has been brought down to Camp Two at 6,400 metres and was expected to be brought down to base camp later on Wednesday, Mr Mingma said.
The Nepalese Tourism Department issued a record 371 permits this year to people to scale the mountain.
The increased number of climbers this year is likely because many people were unable to climb in 2014 and 2015, when deadly avalanches disrupted the climbing seasons.
AP/Reuters/ABC
Source: Mt Everest death toll rises as sherpas find four dead climbers – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
