KATHMANDU: At least five climbers including two foreigners were rescued from the death zone of Mt Everest after they fell ill while descending the world’s highest peak on Monday, expedition organisers said.

Garman Maria Braillard Poccard, 60, from Argentina and his climbing guide Lakpa Sherpa were rescued from South Col area after they suffered severe altitude sicknesses this morning.

According to Damber Parajuli, Managing Director at Prestige Adventure, the Argentine climber fell ill while reaching the south summit point. “They were airlifted to Kathmandu from Camp II after fellow climbers helped them to descend,” he added.

A 50-year-old Pakistani climber Abdul Jabbar Bhatti and his support staff Sange Sherpa suffering from severe frostbite were also rescued by the climbers from above 8,600 m on Mt Everest this morning.

Nima Gyalzen Sherpa, Ang Tshering Lama, and Jangbu Sherpa from Sherpa Khangri Outdoor rescued the climbers giving them their supplemental oxygen and also helped them to descend the Balcony area.

“While ascending, our climbers saw two people near south summit being trapped due to oxygen depletion, and offered them a bottle of oxygen, also informed base camp commander to inform their company to arrange immediate rescue,” Sherpa Khangri said in statement adding that after around two and half hours when they returned after summiting, they found that those two climbers were still there, seriously injured by frostbite.“Then, our team rescued the climber and his sherpa guide from south summit to Balcony and informed again the company to take further action,” it added.

Mingma Sherpa, Managing Director at Seven Summit Treks said that his company was doing bit to rescue two climbers - Abdul and Sange - at the earliest. "Along with our own team, support staff of Sherpa Khangri, TAG Nepal and IMG also contributed a lot to expedite the efforts for rescuing our clients who were taken ill near the Balcony area," he said, adding that eight Sherpa climbers already reached camp IV to descend the climbers to camp II.

According to him, the climbers would be airlifted from Camp II once they arrive there from camp IV later today. "They are out of danger."