Noel Hanna died returning from the summit, while Indian climber Anurag Maloo fell into a crevasse on the same mountain.
A well-known Irish climber has died and an Indian is missing after falling into a crevasse on Mount Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world, in two separate incidents, an expedition organizer said.
Indian climber Anurag Maloo, 34, fell into a crevasse on the same mountain on Monday, Thaneswar Guragai of Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks said Tuesday. The search continues for him.
Another Indian climber, Baljeet Kaur, fell ill on his way down from the 8,091-meter summit, but miraculously survived after spending the night on the mountain in harsh conditions.
Irish climber Noel Hanna, 56, died Monday as he returned from the summit, Guragai said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
A very sad day today. Noel Hanna, Ireland’s greatest high-altitude climber, has passed Annapurna. He taught me so much, which I will always take with me into the hills. He was patient, funny and totally obsessed with his wife Lynne and their dogs. I can not believe it. pic.twitter.com/2ssgRsnICL
— Bonita (@bonitanorris) April 18, 2023
His body was carried down the mountain and taken to the capital Kathmandu, Guragai said.
Hanna had climbed Mount Everest 10 times and climbed the highest point on all seven continents.
In 2006, he climbed the world’s highest peak and then cycled from the route’s base camp to the sea in eastern India, where he reached the Bay of Bengal after a two-week cycle ride.
Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world, is avalanche prone, technically difficult and has a higher death rate than Everest.
Indian climber Kaur, 28, reached the top on Monday but became exhausted and fell ill on the way down because she didn’t use supplemental bottled oxygen, said Pasang Sherpa of Pioneer Adventure, who outfitted the expedition and organized a rescue.
He said Kaur spent the night on the mountain before she was able to make contact and was rescued by a helicopter.
She was taken to a hospital in Kathmandu where she walked from the ambulance to the hospital building with the help of a nurse.
The popular spring mountaineering season has just begun in Nepal’s Himalayas and hundreds of climbers have begun to climb the highest peaks.
Three Sherpa guides have been missing since last week, when they fell into a crevasse on a treacherous part of Mount Everest, just above base camp on the world’s tallest mountain.
The crevasse is estimated to be about 50 meters (160 ft) deep.
The trio were crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall as part of a resupply mission last Wednesday when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into the deep canyon.
Home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, Nepal welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds usually calm.
The government has issued more than 700 climbing permits this season for various mountains in the Himalayas, including 319 for Everest.