Hopes fade for rescuing 2 Indians missing on Everest

KATHMANDU: Hopes of finding the two Indian climbers missing on Mount Everest alive dimmed further on Tuesday, with a rescue mission to locate them on the world’s

Updated on: May 25, 2016, 08:01:11 IST

By Utpal Parashar

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KATHMANDU: Hopes of finding the two Indian climbers missing on Mount Everest alive dimmed further on Tuesday, with a rescue mission to locate them on the world’s highest mountain to be initiated on Wednesday.

Paresh Chandra Nath, Gautam Ghosh, Sunita Hazra and Subhash Pal - all from West Bengal - and four Sherpa guides accompanying them went missing very close to the 8,848-metre tall summit of the mountain on Saturday.

Hazra, Pal and the Sherpa guides were located on Sunday, but there has been no trace yet of Nath and Ghosh. Though Hazra was able to reach till Camp II at 6,400 metres, from where she was airlifted to Kathmandu, Pal died due to altitude sickness on Sunday night.

“A rescue team comprising six persons will leave Kathmandu by helicopter on Wednesday. They will be dropped at Camp II from where it should take two days to reach the missing climbers,” Wangchu Sherpa of Kathmandubased Trekking Camp Nepal told HT. There is little hope of finding them alive as they didn’t have adequate oxygen with them at an altitude where the supply of natural oxygen is so low that the area is called ‘death zone’ by climbers.

As efforts to trace her team members continue, Hazra, who sustained severe frostbite, chest infection and altitude sickness, is recovering in a Kathmandu hospital. “Sunita is an experienced climber, but she was totally shocked by what happened on Everest. While her teammates perished, she is extremely lucky to have survived,” said her husband Sudeb.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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