Indian mountaineer dies while trying to scale Mt Kanchenjunga in Nepal

Kathmandu, May 6

A 52 year-old Indian climber died while ascending the peak of Mt Kanchenjunga in Nepal, according to the organiser of the expedition.

Narayanan Iyer, a resident of Maharashtra, died on Thursday at 8,200 metre altitude of the world’s third highest mountain peak lying at the India-Nepal border, Nivesh Karki, executive director of the Pioneer Adventure, the organiser of the expedition, told PTI.

According to the preliminary report, the Indian climber died due to high-altitude sickness, some 386 metre below the 8,586 metre high peak.

The climber refused to descend when the organisers “asked him to descend when he fell sick” while scaling the mountain, which led to his death, Karki told PTI.

This is the first casualty of this season on Mt. Kanchenjunga.

The organisers have been trying to retrieve the body of Iyer from the altitude that is described as the death zone.

Other six climbers, including four Indian nationals, however, successfully summited the mountain peak and are now descending to the base camp from Camp IV, he said.

The four Indian climbers who successfully ascended the peak are Bhagwan Bhikoba Chawle, 39, Manisha Rishi Gaind, 47, Pankaj Kumar, 21, and Priyanka Mangesh Mohite, 29.

Two others who scaled the peak include Ms. Cira Idella Crowell from the US and Chung Han Lu, 38, from Taiwan.

Besides six foreign nationals, Sherpa guides from Nepal also ascended the peak of Mt. Kanchenjunga, according to the organisers.

Nepal this season issued permits to 68 foreign climbers for the 28,169-foot Kanchenjunga.

Nepal, home to the World’s highest peak Mount Everest, as well as, the third highest peak Kanchenjunga, attracts hundreds of adventurers during the spring climbing season when temperatures are warm and winds are relatively calm.

The Himalayan nation reopened its peaks to mountaineers last year after the shutdown of the industry in 2020 owing to COVID-19 pandemic.