The ten-time Everest climber died after climbing Annapurna peak in Nepal
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – A climber from Northern Ireland died while descending the summit of the world’s 10th highest peak and an Indian climber is missing on the same mountain, climbing officials said on Tuesday.
Noel Hanna, who had scaled Mount Everest ten times, climbed the 8,091-meter (26,545-foot) Annapurna peak in western Nepal on Monday and died overnight in Camp IV after descending from the summit.
Yubaraj Khatiwada, an official with the Ministry of Tourism, said the circumstances of Hanna’s death were unclear.
He said an Indian climber who fell into a crevasse in the lower reaches of Annapurna has been missing since Monday.
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Two other Indian climbers caught in inclement weather while climbing Annapurna have been rescued, officials at the hiking company said.
The Annapurna summit in western Nepal, which was first climbed by Maurice Herzog from France in the early 1950s, is considered dangerous because of the frequent risk of avalanches.
According to hiking officials, at least 365 people have scaled Annapurna and more than 72 have died on the mountain.
Last week, three Nepalese Sherpa climbers died after being struck by an ice serak at the bottom of Mount Everest.
Nepal has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world. Climbing the Himalayan peaks and trekking their foothills are popular adventure sports as well as a source of employment and income for the country hidden between China and India.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Editing by Ed Osmond)
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