Mount Everest Claims Another Life as Search Goes on for Missing ‘Death Zone’ Climbers
The body of a Kenyan climber who vanished close to the summit of Mount Everest was found by a search and rescue team on Wednesday night, officials said, in the latest tragedy to unfold on the world’s highest peak this week.
The death of Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 44, was confirmed Thursday in a press release from Nepal’s Department of Tourism. He had set out to become the first African to reach the summit without the aid of additional oxygen, according to the BBC.
Kirui and his Sherpa guide, Nawang, went missing Wednesday. The search crews located his body a little over 60 feet below the summit, the tourism department said, at around 10:30 p.m. local time. “At the time of issuing this statement, the condition of the Sherpa is unknown and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” the department added Thursday.