Brit still missing as Kenyan climber’s death marks dark week on Everest
A British climber and his guide remain missing on Everest after it was confirmed a climber from Kenya has died on the mountain.
The news marks a dark week on the mountain after two Mongolian climbers died last week while descending from the summit.
The Kenyan climber died on Mount Everest officials said on Thursday.
Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 40, and his 44-year-old Sherpa guide, Nawang, had been missing above the Hillary Step since Wednesday morning.
Sherpa rescuers recovered Kirui’s body late on Wednesday at about 19 metres (62 feet) below the 8,849-metre peak, Nepal’s Department of Tourism said. Nawang was still missing, it said.
“It is not clear whether they went missing before reaching the peak or after climbing,” Khim Lal Gautam, who heads the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office at the base camp, told Reuters.
In his last post on Instagram, Mr Kirui, a banker with one of Kenya’s biggest lenders, said he thought he could climb Everest without additional oxygen.
“A no-oxygen attempt comes with its special preparations and risks, physically my body is ready,” Mr Kirui wrote.
A British man and a Sherpa have also been missing since Tuesday when they slipped and fell near the South Summit. Named as Daniel Paul Paterson, 40, and Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23, neither have been heard from since they reached the top at about 4.40am local time on Tuesday.
A Sherpa with the group said the group reached the summit, adding: ‘Eyewitnesses reported the incident took place between Summit Ridge and South Summit and some climbers were swept away in Kangshung Face,’ he said.
‘Our dedicated search and rescue teams are deployed on the ground. They are working tirelessly to locate our missing climbers. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families during this challenging time.’
‘A cornice broke off and washed down a few climbers including Daniel and his guide towards the Tibet side,’ a member of a team at Everest base camp told The Times.
About 7,000 climbers have scaled the peak, many more than once - since it was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, hiking officials say. They say more than 335 climbers have died.
