KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31
An Australian climber who fell ill at the high camp of Himlung Himal died following hours of waiting for rescue after the US-based firm allegedly refused to conduct a timely evacuation, his expedition agency has claimed.
Chin-Tark Chan, 49, who fell ill at 6,800m on the morning of October 27, breathed his last at noon on October 29. Lakpa Sherpa, Managing Director at 8K Expeditions, confirmed that Chan, who was part of the 8K Himlung Himal Expedition, died due to a delay in rescue operations.
"It's all because of Global Rescue LLC," Lakpa claimed, accusing the New Hampshire-based company of refusing to carry out a timely evacuation from 6,800m on October 27. According to Lakpa, Chan fell ill near the summit of the 7,126-metre mountain, exhibiting symptoms of snow blindness, vomiting blood, and loss of mobility. "We immediately asked Global Rescue to approve his long-line rescue from the high camp," Lakpa said. Global Rescue, Chan's insurer, responded that it could not carry out an operation until Chan was brought down to Camp III and that it needed to speak directly to him.
"How could a patient talk to GR from 6,800m in that condition?" Lakpa wondered. 8K Expeditions spent hours trying to convince GR about the urgency. "Global Rescue's negligence ultimately cost our client's life," Lakpa, who has conducted many rescues from the death zone of Mt Everest in the past, added.
After GR's refusal, 8K also tried to save Chan's life by deploying Sherpas and helicopters, according to Pemba Sherpa, Chairman at 8K Expeditions. "We managed to bring him down to Camp III on October 29, but Chan died just below the camp at around 6,500m," Pemba said, claiming that Global Rescue's refusal and its lengthy process ultimately cost Chan's life. Sherpa claimed that if Global Rescue had approved a timely evacuation from above Camp III on October 27, Chan could have been saved.
In an email to THT, Bill McIntyre, Director of PR & Communications for Global Rescue LLC, however, claimed that there was no fault on the part of GR in handling Chan's case. "8K Expeditions requested a longline or hover rescue; however, this was determined to be unsafe due to the operating ceiling on October 27," the GR representative said.
Global Rescue Operations then asked the Sherpas to assist with Chan's descent to Camp III for rescue, but weather conditions, permit conflicts, and unauthorized third-party actions delayed the rescue. Chan was eventually carried to Camp 3 but died during the descent to Camp II on October 29, McIntyre claimed.
"On October 27, we were notified that one of our members climbing on Himlung Himal had become ill near 6,800 meters. At that elevation, any airborne longline or hover rescue would have required a helicopter to operate above the maximum operating altitude set by Nepal Aviation regulations, creating unacceptable risk to the pilot, the climber and the rescue team. We therefore advised and instructed the guides to assist in the descent to Camp III, the nearest safe helicopter landing zone," McIntyre shared.
"While we were coordinating a helicopter rescue at Camp III (20,9967 feet / 6,400 meters), the expedition operator independently launched a helicopter for a highly risky hover attempt, which failed due to adverse weather conditions. The injured climber was then moved to Camp III as we had advised. Unfortunately, hours had been lost due to the failed hover attempt, and persistent snowfall across Himlung Himal prevented further helicopter launches that day."
According to McIntyre, on October 28, a GR-approved helicopter rescue was prepared to launch as soon as conditions allowed, but the weather remained unsafe throughout the day. "On October 29, national civil aviation authorities imposed a temporary ground stop on all helicopter flights following a crash elsewhere that was unrelated to this incident. Tragically, before a safe weather window presented itself, the client died below Camp III at approximately 6,500 meters. Our team then activated recovery and repatriation procedures," he said.
Global Rescue Operations has now transitioned the case to a Mortal Remains Transfer. Kailash Heli was approved and activated to retrieve Chan's remains from Himlung Himal Base Camp to Kathmandu Teaching Hospital. Global Rescue Operations instructed 8K Expeditions to notify the family and the Australian embassy and requested that the family contact Global Rescue to initiate repatriation procedures.
"Efforts are now underway to bring his body to Kathmandu from the Himlung Himal," 8K Expeditions said, adding that five Sherpa rescuers were put on standby at the base camp for bringing his body down from above 6,000m.
