Two Indian climbers die on Mount Kanchenjunga, Nepal

Kathmandu: An expedition organizer says two Indian climbers on Mount Kanchenjunga (KAN’-chen-joonga) have died while attempts were being made to rescue them.

The climbers, identified as Biplab Baidya, 48, and Kuntal Kanrar, 46, belonged to Kolkata. They died overnight at an altitude of about 8,000 metres.

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Pasang Sherpa of Peak Promotion in Kathmandu says one of them had scaled the world’s third tallest peak while another was on the way up but fell sick and died.

The climbers fell ill just below the 8,586-meter (28,160-foot) summit and attempts were being made to bring them to a lower camp from where they would have been picked by a rescue helicopter.

They were believed to be suffering from high altitude sickness and had frostbites, he said.

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Other details were not available but Sherpa said attempts would be made to bring their bodies down — a difficult and exhausting task because of the steep icy slope and low levels of oxygen.

Hundreds of foreign climbers and their guides attempt to scale high Himalayan peaks during the popular spring climbing season in Nepal that begins around March and ends this month.

(PTI)