Sick At 20.997 Feet, Russian Everest Climber Dies At 5.360 Meters Above Sea Level

JAKARTA - Russian climber Pavel Kostrikin died at Camp I on Mount Everest, the first foreign death on the world's highest peak in the current climbing season that began in March, a Nepalese official said on Sunday.

Kostrikin, 55, died in the camp which is located at an altitude of about 5.360 meters above sea level or about 17.585 feet, on a mountain that is 8.848 meters (29.031 feet) on Saturday, said Bhishma Kumar Bhattarai, a Nepal Ministry Tourist official.

"The Russian climber fell ill at Camp II and died after being brought to Camp I," Bhattarai told Reuters without giving further details, as quoted on May 9.

It is known that Camp II on the normal southeast ridge route on Everest is located at an altitude of about 6.400 meters or 20.997 feet.

Climbing officials said Kostrikin's body would be taken to Kathmandu when the current cloudy weather conditions improved.

Mount Everest has been climbed 10.657 times since it was first climbed in 1953, from the sides of the Nepalese and Tibetan mountains, with many climbing multiple times and so far 311 people have died, according to The Himalayan Database.

An Indian climber has died while climbing Nepal's Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, a climbing official said Saturday. Last month, a Greek climber and Nepalese Sherpa guide died on another peak.

Mountain climbing is a major tourism activity in Nepal and a major source of income and employment. The country has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world.

To note, more than 900 foreign mountaineers have received permits to climb 26 Himalayan peaks in Nepal, including 316 permits for Mount Everest, during the running season ending this May.