Nepali sherpa saves Malaysian climber in rare Everest 'death zone' rescue

"Saving one life is more important than praying at the monastery," said the rescuer Gelje Sherpa, a devout Buddhist

Ngima Tashi Sherpa walks as he carries a Malaysian climber while rescuing him from the death zone above camp four at Everest, Nepal, May 18, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout vi

AMalaysianclimbernarrowly survived after aNepalisherpaguide hauled him down from below the summit of MountEverestin a "veryrare" high altituderescue, a government official said on Wednesday.

GeljeSherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849 metre (29,032 feet)Everestsummit on May 18 when he saw the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from extreme cold in the area called the "death zone", where temperatures can dip to minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22F) or lower.

Gelje hauled theclimber600 metres (1,900 feet) down from the Balcony area to the South Col, over a period of about six hours, where Nima TahiSherpa, another guide, joined therescue.

"We wrapped theclimberin a sleeping mat, dragged him on the snow or carried him in turns on our backs to camp III," Gelje said.

A helicopter using a long line then lifted him from the 7,162-metre (23,500 feet) high Camp III down to base camp.

"It is almost impossible torescueclimbers at that altitude," Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala told Reuters. "It is a veryrareoperation."

Gelje said he convinced his Chinese client to give up his summit attempt and descend the mountain, saying it was important for him torescuetheclimber.

"Saving one life is more important than praying at the monastery," said Gelje, a devout Buddhist.

Tashi LakhpaSherpaof the Seven Summit Treks company, which provided logistics to theMalaysianclimber, declined to name him, citing his client's privacy. Theclimberwas put on a flight to Malaysia last week.

Nepal issued a record 478 permits forEverestduring this year's March to May climbing season.

At least 12climbers have died – the highest number for eight years, and another five are still missing onEverest's slopes.