Four deaths on Mount Everest prompt calls for safety action

A LEADING Nepalese mountaineer has called for greater controls on attempts to climb the south side of Mount Everest, following confirmation of four deaths on the world’s highest mountain over the weekend.

The four who died were from Germany, South Korea, China and Canada, while a fifth – reported to be a Nepalese Sherpa guide – was still missing yesterday.

Former Nepalese Mountaineering Association president Ang Tshering has said that the Nepalese government should impose schedules, so that scores of climbers were not trying for the 8,848m summit plateau at the same time.

Nepalese government official Gyanedra Shrestha said weather conditions were particularly hazardous this season, and that a high altitude “traffic jam” had occurred on Saturday.

The four who died were identified as: German doctor Eberhard Schaaf (61); Nepal-born Canadian Shriya Shah (33); Chinese climber Ha Wenyi (55); and South Korean Song Won-bin.

The toll is the worst in one 48-hour period on Everest since 1996, when eight people died.

Last year, Kildare-based businessman John Delaney (42) became the first Irish man to lose his life on the mountain. More than 20 Irish people have climbed the mountain since the first successful ascent by Belfast architect Dawson Stelfox in 1993.

An estimated 150 people of more than 340 on the mountain had been taking advantage of a weather window, with a number summiting and others retreating.

Warmer than normal temperatures were said to be causing rock falls on the Lhotse face, due to little new snow, and making the Khumbu icefall on the southern route more hazardous than usual.

Dublin professional tennis coach Cian Ó Brolcháin (32) is a member of a commercial expedition on the south side which opted to wait for another weather window forecast for later this week for its attempt. Mr Ó Brolcháin is raising funds for cystic fibrosis research and treatment.

On the Tibetan (northern) side of the mountain, Co Down professional mountain guide Noel Hanna recorded his fifth successful Everest ascent at the weekend, while 73-year- old Japanese mountaineer Tamae Watanabe achieved her second ascent – having recorded her first in 2002 at age 63. – (Additional reporting: Associated Press and Reuters)