KATHMANDU, APRIL 18
Search operation is continuing for Anurag Maloo, who went missing after falling from 6,000m into a deep crevasse while descending from Camp IV on Mt Annapurna yesterday.
Maloo, 34, from Kishangargh of Rajasthan, India, went missing after he fell from around 6,000m while descending from Camp III. A team of five Sherpa climbers are conducting a ground search for the missing climber, informed Chhang Dawa Sherpa, expedition director at Seven Summit Treks, adding that an aerial search was also conducted yesterday to trace the climber.
Maloo is on a mission to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres and the seven highest points in all seven continents to create awareness and drive action towards achieving the UN Global Goals (#ClimbingForSDGs). He has been awarded REX Karam- Veer Chakra and became the 2041 Antarctic Youth Ambassador from India.
Meanwhile, Indian female climber Baljeet Kaur, who went missing above Camp IV on Mt Annapurna, has been rescued alive from 7,363 metres.
"She has suffered frostbites and was rushed to CIWEC Hospital from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu," said Pasang Sherpa, chairman of Pioneer Adventure.
An aerial search team located Kaur and airlifted the missing climber to base camp before flying her to Kathmandu, Pasang added.
Kaur had scaled the world's tenth-highest peak without using supplemental oxygen yesterday and was descending to Camp III. An aerial search mission was initiated this morning after she sent a radio signal asking for help. Her GPS location indicated an altitude of 7,375m (24,193ft). She reached the summit of Mt Annapurna along with two Sherpa guides at around 5:15pm yesterday. Three helicopters were deployed to trace Kaur.
Also, four other climbers were evacuated from the high camps of Mt Annapurna after they complained of altitude sickness.
Pakistani climbers Shehroze Kashif, Naila Kiani and Indian climber Arjun Vajpai were evacuated from Camp IV after they fell ill while descending from the summit point. Base camp sources said that Nepali Army Captain Suman Panday, who suffered snow blindness at Camp III, was evacuated to Kathmandu this afternoon. Panday scaled Annapurna yesterday as leader of the Annapurna clean-up expedition.
Meanwhile, the body of legendary climber Noel Hanna has also been airlifted to Kathmandu.
The 10-time Everest summiteer from Northern Ireland died at Camp IV after he returned from the summit. Hanna had been to the highest point on all seven continents and was the first person to go from the highest point to sea level by means of human power (bike/ski/run). He coordinated the Red Bull film crew and got Valery Rozov to jump location for world's highest wingsuit jump of Everest's North Summit (Chanze) in May 2013.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
