Indian mountaineer dies while scaling Nepal's Mount Makalu; third climber to perish in three days

Kathmandu: An Indian climber has died in Nepal while descending the summit of Mount Makalu during an expedition to the world’s fifth highest mountain, an official said Friday, days after two mountaineers from the country perished in the Himalayan nation.

Narayan Singh died at camp 4 on Thursday night while climbing down from the 8,485-meter summit, Nepal Tourism Ministry official Mira Acharya said.

“Indian climber Narayan Singh died in Mt Makalu. He died at camp 4 while descending the summit,” Acharya told PTI.

Two Indian climbers from West Bengal — Biplab Baidya (48) and Kuntal Karar (46) — died in Nepal on Wednesday due to high altitude sickness near the summit of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third tallest peak.

Another climber from Chile is missing from above Camp IV of Mount Kanchenjunga since Wednesday evening.

Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas 19-kilometer southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

Hundreds of climbers flock each year to Nepal, which is home to several of the world’s highest mountains, to scale Himalayan peaks during the spring season that begins around March and ends in June.