Sherpa saves Malaysian climber in Everest ‘death zone’ rescue

Gelje Sherpa found the Malaysian hanging from a rope and shivering in an area where temperatures can drop below minus 30C (86F).

A Malaysian climber narrowly survived Mount Everest after a Nepalese Sherpa guide pulled him down from below the summit in a “very rare” high-altitude rescue, a government official said.

Gelje Sherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to Everest’s 8,849-meter summit on May 18 when he spotted the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from the extreme cold in the area dubbed the “death zone.” named. , where temperatures can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (86F) or lower.

Gelje dragged the climber 600 meters (1,900 feet) down from the balcony to the South Col, in about six hours, where Nima Tahi Sherpa, another guide, joined the rescue.

“We wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat, dragged him through the snow or took turns carrying him on our backs to Camp III,” said Gelje.

A helicopter lifted him from the 7,162 meter camp three to the base camp using a long line.

“It is almost impossible to save climbers at that height,” Tourism Ministry official Bigyan Koirala told Reuters news agency. “It’s a very rare operation.”

Gelje said he convinced his Chinese client to give up trying to summit and descend the mountain, saying it was important to him to save the climber.

“Saving one life is more important than praying at the monastery,” says Gelje, a devout Buddhist.

Tashi Lakhpa Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks company, which provided logistics for the Malaysian climber, declined to give his name, citing his client’s privacy. The climber was put on a flight to Malaysia last week.

Nepal has issued a record 478 Everest permits for the climbing season from March to May this year.

At least 12 people have died on the mountain this year – the most in eight years – including Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub, a senior Malaysian civil defense officer, who died making his final ascent of the mountain earlier this month.

A second Malaysian, 33-year-old Muhammad Hawari Hashim, who was on the same expedition as Awang Askandar, reached the summit but was reported missing the next day on 19 May. locate him.