A rescue team on Sunday retrieved the body of Indian climber Ravi Kumar, whose body was spotted in a perilous zone on Mount Everest on May 22, AFP reported. His body along with the remains of two other climbers who had died on the mountain in 2016 were airlifted to Kathmandu on Sunday. The two other climbers have been identified as Goutam Ghosh and Paresh Nath.
Kumar, 27, died on his way down after summiting the highest peak in the world. The recovery process was delayed by the risk involved. “A team of at least eight rescue workers retrieved his body and brought it down to Camp 2 on Saturday,” Tashi Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, the company overseeing the operation, told the news agency.
Kumar’s brother Manoj, who collected the body from Kathmandu, said, “It was his dream to take our country’s flag to the top of Mount Everest. We are deeply sad, but also proud of him.”
The bodies of all three climbers were found near the summit in an area known as the “death zone”. Most rescue companies choose to not conduct retrieval operations on account of the risk involved. “We do not risk the lives of the living to recover the dead,” Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, told AFP.
So far, six people have lost their lives on the mountain this season, including legendary Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck, who died in April. While four other bodies were found on May 23, officials are yet to confirm if their deaths took place this season.
Records show that at least 382 climbers have succeeded in completing their climbs from the Nepal side of the mountain this season.
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