KATHMANDU ¨C An Indian climber went missing while descending the ¡°death zone¡± after scaling Mount Everest, officials said Sunday, following the death of two climbers over the past month.
Ravi Kumar, 26, was climbing down from the 8,850-meter-high (29,035 feet) summit and got separated from his guide near a place called Balcony on Saturday, Thupden Sherpa of Arun Treks and Expedition company that sponsored Kumar¡¯s team said in Kathmandu.
¡°Three Sherpa rescuers have been sent to search for Kumar,¡± Thupden said, adding the climber had been out of contact.
A Tourism Department official, Gyanendra Shrestha, confirmed Kumar had not contacted anyone.
On April 30, a famed Swiss climber fell to his death near Mount Everest during preparations to climb the world¡¯s highest mountain, while an 85-year-old Nepalese man died at the base camp earlier this month while trying to set a record for the oldest climber.
Nepal has cleared 371 mountaineers to climb Mount Everest during the current season, which ends this month.
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