Physically challenged Malaysian climber missing after summiting Mt. Everest

KATHMANDU: A physically challenged Malaysian climber has gone missing after summiting Mt. Everest, the company that organised his expedition said on Saturday.

Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim, 33, has been missing since Friday after he descended to Camp IV which is at 7,925 meters above sea level, Nivesh Karki, executive director of Pioneer Adventure Pvt. Ltd., told Xinhua news agency.

“When our mountaineering guides went for a rescue operation for another Malaysian climber who had become ill from Camp IV, Hawari went missing,” Karki. Hawari was no longer at Camp IV when the guides reached the site, he added.

“We have been searching for him by inquiring climbers from Camp I to camp IV since Friday but he has not been found yet,” added Karki.

Karki’s team has four Malaysian climbers, but Hawari is the only one to ascend the 8,848.86-meter-high peak.

Ampuan Yaacub, a Malaysian police officer, died at Camp IV because of energy loss, said Karki. Yaacub became the ninth climber to die on the world’s tallest peak during this spring climbing season.

A record 478 climbers from 65 countries and regions have received permits to summit Mt. Everest this climbing season, as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of the peak, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism.

-IANS