Hit By Ice Bongkahan, French Climber Dies In Himalayan Munggu Ama Dablam Expedition

JAKARTA - Two mountain climbers, one French resident and one South Korean, died in Nepal after a separate expedition to Gunung Ama Dablam in the Himalayas.

Hugo Lucio Colonia Lazaro (65) from France, was hit by chunks of ice that fell on his head and evacuated to Kathmandu by helicopter last week, the Himalayan company Vision Treks and Expedition said.

Hong Khy Park, 66, a South Korean, died on Sunday while climbing the mountain. He was climbing with five other people when he fainted, said Homnath Bhattarai of the company J'Vill Nepal Treks.

Mount Ama Dablam, which is 6,814 meters high (22,356 ft) in the Solukhambu region, is a small but technically difficult to climb. This peak, which is popular among climbers of Mount Everest Base Camp, is also known as the "Matterhorn of the Himalayan" because of its towering mountain back and its steep slopes.

Nepal has issued 400 permits to climb Ama Dablam for the autumn climbing season which will end next month.

Trekking and mountain climbing are the main sources of employment and income for this poor country located between China and India.

A South Korean climber died earlier this month after climbing the top of the climb in the same region.