4 climbers found dead in tents at the highest camp on Everest
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4 climbers found dead in tents at the highest camp on Everest
Authorities in Nepal have been unable to confirm the identities of four bodies found on Mount Everest, raising speculation the climbers may have died years ago. The climbers were found at camp four — at 26,085 feet — on Tuesday by a rescue team there to retrieve the body of a Slovak climber who died on the mountain on Sunday. Local media reported that two of the dead were foreign climbers and two were Nepali guides. Nepal’s tourism department said late Wednesday they had been unable to identify the bodies.
Our sources at the base camp were not able to confirm if any teams were missing members. We suspect that maybe they found bodies from years before.
Nepali tourism department spokesman Durga Dutta Dhakal
Strong winds hit Everest on Tuesday, forcing many to abandon their summit attempts and remain in tents at camp four. This fueled speculation that the four climbers discovered Tuesday may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning after using their camp stoves in the confines of their tents. If the bodies are confirmed as new fatalities, it would bring the season’s death toll to 10. That would exceed what mountaineering officials say is a typical toll of six. Recent decades have brought improvements in climbing equipment, weather forecasting and reducing other dangers to climbers, keeping the death toll much lower than in the early decades on Everest.
