Everest accidents and deaths are not strange in the mountaineering community. Every year many climbers lose their life in an attempt to climb the world’s highest peak. On April 12, 2023, three Nepali guides, Themwa Tenzing Sherpa, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and Badure Sherpa, went missing. All three guides, who worked for the Nepali operator Imagine Nepal, were missing and presumed dead during the initials. The three Khumbu Pasang Rural Municipality-5 Sherpas encountered an avalanche in Khumbu Icefall.
As they met the mishap, the Simrik Airlines Helicopter reached out for a rescue; however, no progress was made. Lakpa Sherpa from the Everest Base Camp informed the tragic news of three guides. He mentioned, ‘The possibility of finding the missing climbers alive is “very slim.”’ He added that ‘the Sherpas were buried five to six meters underneath, and the further rescue mission was impossible due to the potential of another avalanche in the region. The rescue campaign was later organized to find the dead bodies using a Recco detector and avalanche transceiver tools.
‘It’s not that they fell into crevasses. They are buried under the ice masses in the Khumbu Icefall, the most dangerous section of Everest,’ Lakpa Sherpa told the local resource.
As per reports, all three guides fell into the crevasses on the most dangerous section of Mount Everest, which led to their untimely death. The accident happened after the extreme weather brought treacherous avalanches in the region. It marked 2023’s first-ever accident on Mount Everest.
According to the officials, Themwa Tenzing Sherpa, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and Badure Sherpa were between Camp 1 and the base camp of Mt. Everest when the mishap occurred. During the timeline, around 25 professional guides were climbing above Khumbu Icefall. At the same time, more than 50 meters of ice sheet fell from the mountain, burying the three Sherpa guides underneath.
All three Sherpas worked under Imagine Nepal, a Travel and Trek agency in Bouddha. The company has been operating mountaineering campaigns for over 23 years, with more than 118 successful summits. The company has 48 Active Climbers and over 27 Peak Climbing Routes.
Although this marks Everest’s first death in 2023, the fatalities have grown throughout the years. This alarming trend has garnered significant attention from the mountaineering communities like Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) and the public. It’s a fact that Mount Everest poses great risks and challenges due to its extreme altitude, harsh weather conditions, and treacherous terrain. Similarly, avalanches, falls, altitude sickness, hypothermia, and altitude sickness are the major threats to the world’s highest peak.
Several reasons contribute to the increase in the fatalities on Mount Everest. After the first ascent by Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, the commercialization of the Mount Everest Expedition hiked up. It also has caused an influx of climbers, including both experienced and non-experienced climbers. As it causes overcrowding on the routes to Everest, the chances of accidents are high. Similarly, if anything unpredictable happens, there is no chance of surviving. The same happened to the three Sherpas, Themwa Tenzing Sherpa, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and Badure Sherpa.
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