Everest 2007 Update: Confirmation of Deaths Lastnight

May 16, 2007

Originally there had been a little bit of confusion regarding possible deaths on Everest lastnight–the second night of a big summit push that has thus far seen well over 100 successful summits.

At this time, from a few different sources, I will try to piece together what is known at this time.

Originally, as I posted earlier, there were reports of both a male and female climber who had perished sa well as two Koreans and quite possibly a Czech climber as well.

As it goes on Everest, people report what they are hearing–at this time, it has been confirmed that three people did indeed die lastnight.

Official reports out of Korea and Japan confirm that two climbers from Korea as well as one Japanese Male did die. This brings the total for this season up to four.

Official news from Asahi.com states the following regarding the fallen Japanese climber:

A 62-year-old man from Tokyo died Tuesday shortly after reaching the summit of Mount Everest on a tour run by a Japanese travel agency, organizers said.

It was the second death on the world’s highest peak of a member of a tour organized by Tokyo-based Adventure Guides Co.

According to the travel agency, Yoshitomi Okura, the party leader, phoned Tuesday morning from Nepal saying the group had scaled the 8,848-meter mountain from the Chinese side.

The man collapsed after taking a few steps on the descent.

A Nepalese Sherpa gave the man a heart massage but he died. His body was buried in the snow near the peak as a temporary measure.

Earlier today, it was being reported that the dead climber was in fact Yoshitomi Okura–the guide on this expdition, but as you can see by this post, that can not be so. The name of the climber has yet to be released, and this happens quite a bit pending notification of family members after such a death.

Meanwhile, the two Koreans who perished has also been officially identified with this report from Yonhap News, an Independant Korean News Source:

Oh Hee-joon, 37, and Lee Hyun-jo, 35, were both members of a team led by Park Young-seok, who has conquered 14 peaks of 8,000 meters or higher in the Himalayas, according to the branch. Oh, the expedition team’s vice captain, had climbed 10 such peaks.

The two Korean climbers were hit by a rockfall somewhere between 7700 and 8300 meters lastnight. A couple of different sources have stated that the climber’s bodies will be brought back down for proper burial.

As far as the Japanese woman and The Czech being reported as perishing, at this time it is believed that both of these incidents were in fact reference to the fallen Japanese Climber near the summit. For more on this, I suggest you head over to Alan Arnette’s great site. Stories have a way of changing as it filters through the camps–unless you wait for an official word…which we now have.

These three climbers along with Dawa Sherpa, respectively, are the only confirmed deaths on Everest this season.

We wish the families, friends, and associates of these fallen climbers our thoughts and prayers.

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