Kenyan and Nepali climbers found dead on Mount Everest, Sherpa guide still missing

According to officials, Nepali climber Binod Babu Bastakoti died at Camp 4 while descending, and 40-year-old Kenyan climber Cheruiyot Kirui was found by rescue teams on the Seven Summits trek a few metres below the summit of Mount Everest.

The condition of Nawang Sherpa, who accompanied Kenyan climber Kirui to the death zone, is not yet known.

The Kenyan man was attempting to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, but the radio had gone out at Bishop Rock.

“Nawang last spoke to authorities at the base camp at Bishop Rock when Kirui refused to turn back and even refused to take bottled oxygen but showed unusual behaviour,” a search team official said.

The Nepali climber died of illness on Wednesday at an altitude of 8,300 metres, just above Camp IV, the expedition's organising company Booking On said. The incident happened while descending from the summit point. Said Narbin Magar of Private Limited confirmed this.

Earlier on Tuesday, two climbers had fallen near the Hillary Step on Mount Everest.

According to officials, Britain's Daniel Paul Peterson and Tenji Sherpa died near Makalu when a section of the route collapsed in the Hillary section below the summit point.

Similarly, Gabriel Tabara of Romania was found dead inside his tent at Camp III on Tuesday.

Mongolian climbers Usukhajargal Tsedenba and Prevsuren Lkhagvazaev also died above 8,500 metres while descending from the summit on May 13.

Cheruiyot Kirui climbed Mount Manaslu (8,163m) without oxygen, achieving the feat as the first African to climb a peak above 8,000m without oxygen in September 2023. His other notable climbs include the multiple steep ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m), where he completed the round in just 15 hours. Kirui has climbed Mount Kenya (5,199m) more than 20 times, holding course records on its three main routes.