Woman dies trying to scale world’s 3rd-highest mountain; another climber rescued

A 63-year-old French climber has died trying to scale the world’s third-highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, the expedition’s organizer said on Monday, while British media reported a U.K. climber on the same peak was rescued.

Margareta Morin died above Camp 4 of the 28,169-foot Himalayan mountain on Saturday.

“She died due to health complications while ascending,” Yogendra Tamang of Peak 15 Adventure told AFP. “We are not yet able to bring back the body due to bad weather conditions.”  

Meanwhile, British climber Adrian Michael Hayes was rescued during the same expedition, according to U.K. outlets including the Daily Mail and the Sun. Hayes was descending the mountain on Saturday when he reportedly began to suffer from altitude sickness, the outlets reported.  Hayes was among a group of 10 climbers who had reached the summit, the Daily Mail reported. 

Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain after Mount Everest and K2, is regarded as one of the most technically demanding among the world’s 8,000-meter peaks.

It was the third death in the spring climbing season, which runs from April to early June.

Last week, American climber Alexander Pancoe died while attempting Mount Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world. Pancoe, an accomplished climber and graduate of Northwestern University, had survived a brain tumor when he was younger, CBS Chicago reported.

An Austrian climber died while descending Nepal’s 6,812-meter Ama Dablam last month.  

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of climbers every year during the spring and autumn climbing seasons.

It has already issued over 1,000 permits for its mountains this season, including 75 for Kanchenjunga.