WorldSouth Asia
Bodies of two Japanese climbers found on Nepal's Gangapurna, nine days after contact was lost
Rescuers found them at about 6,300 metres on the southern slopes of the 7,455-metre peak. Contact with the pair had been lost above 7,050 metres on 15 October.
Key points
- Rescuers recovered the bodies at about 6,300 metres on Gangapurna's southern slopes.
- Contact with the climbers was lost above 7,050 metres on 15 October.
- The bodies will be taken to Kathmandu for post-mortem examinations.
Rescuers in Nepal have recovered the bodies of two Japanese climbers on Gangapurna, nine days after contact with the pair was lost high on the mountain.
The bodies were found at about 6,300 metres on the southern slopes of the 7,455-metre peak in Nyeshyang Rural Municipality-6. Contact with the climbers had been lost on 15 October, when they were above 7,050 metres.
Searchers found gear and backpacks near the route they had been taking. The climbers have not been named, and the authorities have not said how they died.
The bodies will be taken to Kathmandu for post-mortem examinations and handed over with the help of the Japanese Embassy.
The deaths come in Nepal’s busy autumn season, as visitors return to the mountains after the Dashain festival.
The recovery came on a busy day for Nepal’s mountain districts. In Mustang, tourist numbers have jumped since the Beni-Jomsom highway reopened after landslides blocked it on 27 September. More than 7,800 visitors arrived in the two days after the Dashain Tika alone, and foreigners made up nearly four in five of the 5,663 arrivals between Ghatasthapana and Bijaya Dashami.
Elsewhere, Nepal’s disaster authority recorded 20 incidents in the 24 hours to Saturday, including a landslide in Myagdi and cases of altitude sickness in two mountain regions. Forecasters expect light rain or snow in the northern mountains, and have asked travellers to follow weather bulletins until 28 October.