20-5-2023 (KATHMANDU) A deaf-mute Malaysian climber has been reported missing after successfully reaching the summit of Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest mountain in the world, from the Nepal side on Friday. The expedition company responsible for organizing his climb announced the disappearance on Saturday.
Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim, 33, has been missing since Friday when he descended to Camp IV, located at an elevation of 7,925 meters above sea level, according to Nivesh Karki, the executive director of Pioneer Adventure Pvt. Ltd.
Karki informed Xinhua news agency that Hawari went missing while the mountaineering guides were conducting a rescue operation for another Malaysian climber who fell ill at Camp IV.
“When our guides reached the site, Hawari was no longer there,” Karki stated.
Efforts to locate Hawari have been ongoing since Friday, with climbers from Camp I to Camp IV being questioned, but he has not been found thus far, Karki added.
Among Karki’s team of climbers, consisting of four Malaysians, Hawari is the only one who successfully reached the summit of the 8,848.86-meter-high Mt. Qomolangma, which spans the border between Nepal and China.
Unfortunately, Ampuan Yaacub, a Malaysian police officer, lost his life at Camp IV due to exhaustion, as confirmed by Karki.
Yaacub became the ninth climber to perish on Mt. Qomolangma from the Nepal side during this year’s spring climbing season.
According to Nepal’s Department of Tourism, a record-breaking number of 478 climbers from 65 countries and regions have obtained permits to climb Mt. Qomolangma from the Nepal side during the spring season. This surge in climbers is in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of the mountain.
