Athletics

Kenyan climber Cheruiyot Kirui dies while attempting to reach Mt Everest summit

Kenyan mountaineer Cheruiyot Kirui. (Photo: Everest Today)

By Rama Mohammed | Thursday, May 23, 2024

His body was found a few meters below the summit point of Mt Everest.

Kenyan climber Cheruiyot Kirui has died, according to Everest Today.

His body was found a few meters below the summit point of Mt Everest.

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“We have received a report that the research and rescue team have found the body of the Kenyan climber. His guide Nawanga Sherpa is still missing,” said Khimlal Gautam, Chief of the Expedition Monitoring and Facilitation Field Office at the base camp.

The confirmation of Kirui's death comes as officials are slowly giving up hope of finding British climber Daniel Paul Paterson, 40, and his Sherpa guide Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23, who have been missing in the death zone.

Kirui had been reported missing on Mt Everest while attempting to reach the summit Everest without using supplemental oxygen.

He had been out of contact since Wednesday morning from a point known as Bishop Rock, just a few meters below the summit.

Mingma Sherpa, Chairman at Seven Summit Treks, confirmed that Kirui, a banker with KCB, and his Sherpa guide, Nawang, were last contacted at Bishop Rock. Nawang reported that Kirui exhibited abnormal behaviour before they both lost contact.

A recent photo posted by Cheruiyot Kirui while on Mt Everest. (Photo: Facebook/ Cheruiyot AK)

Earlier, Kirui had spoken about his ambitious goal. "Climbing Everest has been done before. I think the only difference is what I'm trying to do, climbing without supplemental oxygen. That has not been done by any African. It's the tough way to climb Mt Everest," he told reporters.

“It is riskier than climbing with supplemental oxygen. So you need to be extremely fit. The success rate of climbing without supplemental oxygen is less than 40 per cent.”

Everest’s summit, at 8,849 meters, has approximately one-third the air pressure that exists at sea level. This significantly reduces a climber's ability to breathe in enough oxygen, making the ascent incredibly dangerous.

The Himalayan had earlier reported the death of Romanian climber Gabriel Tabara at Camp III on Mt Everest.

Tabara, 48, who was attempting to climb Lhotse without supplementary oxygen, was found dead in his tent. The ongoing climbing season has been marked by several tragedies, including the disappearance of Daniel Paul Peterson from the UK and Pas Tenji Sherpa near the Hillary Step, and the deaths of two Mongolian climbers on May 13.