Serac Collapse Injures Two Climbers on Everest Route
KATHMANDU, Nepal — An Indian mountaineer and a Nepalese Sherpa guide were injured Tuesday morning after a serac collapse sent ice onto the climbing route through the Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest, Nepal’s Department of Tourism said.
The injured climbers were identified as Nimish Kumar Singh, 40, of India, and Pembha Tenduk Sherpa, 44, a mountain guide from Nepal.
Officials said the incident happened around 5:45 a.m. as climbers and Sherpa guides from multiple expedition agencies were moving through the Khumbu Icefall as part of their acclimatization process. The group had earlier reached Camp II after climbing from Everest Base Camp.
A serac is a large, unstable block of glacial ice that can form on a glacier’s surface or along steep icefalls. When the serac collapsed, falling ice reached the main climbing route and struck members of the expedition team.
Sherpa guides from Pioneer Adventure Pvt. Ltd. and Summit Force Expedition responded immediately and alerted officials stationed at Everest Base Camp. A team from Seven Summit Trek Pvt. Ltd. then coordinated a helicopter evacuation.
A helicopter arrived from Lukla airport near Mount Everest around 6:30 a.m. and airlifted the injured climbers to Kathmandu. Both were taken to HAMS Hospital, where officials said they were in stable condition and out of danger.
The Khumbu Icefall is considered one of the most dangerous sections of the Everest route because of shifting ice and the risk of serac collapses, especially early in the climbing season.
The incident comes during Nepal’s busy spring mountaineering season. As of May 1, the Department of Tourism had issued Everest climbing permits to 464 climbers from 47 teams, including 58 climbers from India across 25 expedition teams.
Across Nepal, 1,050 climbers from 125 teams have received permits this season to climb various peaks. (Source: IANS)
