A Japanese mountain climber, who lost all but one of his fingertips to frostbite in a previous expedition, died during an eighth attempt to scale Mount Everest, according to local officials.
Nobukazu Kuriki’s body was found on the mountain Monday and was flown by helicopters to Kathmandu, where authorities are expected to conduct an autopsy.
“We are in shock,” Tika Ram Gurung, the managing director of Bochi-Bochi Trek, the climbing company that organized his trip, told the New York Times. “It is a huge loss to the mountaineering world.”
Details about Kuriki’s death are still not clear, but several media outlets reported the climber fell ill when he was descending part of the mountain and lost radio communication with his team.
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He was then found dead at base camp two at 7,400 metres on the 8,850-metre mountain.
On Saturday, the 35-year-old adventurer had updated his Facebook account saying he was suffering from a cough and fever but that he thought he could continue climbing.
Kuriki was a known mountaineer who climbed many mountains and made several attempts on Everest. In 2012, he lost nine fingertips to frostbite trying to climb the world’s tallest mountain.
On Sunday, a climber from Macedonia also died trying to scale the mountain.
Gjeorgi Petkov, 63, was at base camp three when he died of cardiac arrest, according to local reports.
Nepal has allowed more than 340 foreign climbers to ascend the peak during the current season, which started in March and continues through this month.
— With files from Reuters
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