KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 23 (UPI) — With the death of an Indian man Sunday on Mount Everest, at least four people have now died in the past four days on the world’s highest peak.
Subash Paul, 44, likely died from altitude sickness while at Base Camp II. He was part of a team four climbers, two of whom — identified as Paresh Chandra Nath and Goutam Ghosh — went missing Saturday night, while the other — Sunita Hazra — was rescued.
“It is not clear what happened. We believe the weather suddenly deteriorated at some point, and the team lost direction,” Wanchu Sherpa said, CNN reported.
Officials were attempting to locate the missing climbers but the altitude and the weather have hindered efforts.
The group of four wasn’t the only to encounter problems on the mountain over the past few days.
Maria Strydom, 34, from Australia, died on Saturday from altitude sickness. Eric Arnold, 36, from the Netherlands, died from a suspected heart attack on Friday. Phurba Sherpa fell to his death on Thursday near the summit.
About 330 climbers have successfully scaled Mount Everest this season, which began in April after a two-year hiatus following a 2014 avalanche and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
More than 250 people have died climbing Mount Everest since 1953 and many of those were due to altitude-related illnesses.
More than 30 people have suffered from severe frostbite and altitude sickness in recent days while on Mount Everest. The four deaths include a Sherpa.
