On Tuesday, climbing officials announced that a mountaineer from Northern Ireland had died while descending from the summit of Annapurna, the 10th highest peak in the world. The officials also revealed that an Indian climber was missing on the same mountain.
Noel Hanna, who had previously climbed Mount Everest ten times, had successfully scaled the 8,091 metres (26,545 feet) peak on Monday. However, he died overnight in Camp IV after descending from the peak. The circumstances surrounding his death are currently unknown.
Yubaraj Khatiwada, an official of the Department of Tourism, explained that an Indian climber had fallen into a crevasse on the lower reaches of Annapurna and has been missing since Monday. Meanwhile, two other Indian mountaineers who were climbing Annapurna were caught up in bad weather and were being rescued, according to hiking company officials.
Annapurna peak in west Nepal was first climbed by Maurice Herzog of France in the early 1950s. Due to the frequent risk of avalanches, the mountain is considered dangerous. At least 365 people have successfully climbed Annapurna, but over 72 have died while attempting to do so, as reported by hiking officials.
This news follows the deaths of three Nepali sherpas who died last week after being hit by an ice serac on the lower parts of Mount Everest. Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, and climbing Himalayan peaks and hiking on their foothills are popular adventure sports, as well as a source of employment and income for the country, which is located between China and India.
