Sherpa says rescuing climber from Mount Everest ‘death zone’ was ‘hardest ever’

A Nepali sherpa carried a stricken stranger for six hours 1,900ft down Mount Everest after finding the man dangling in the “death zone”.

Gelje Sherpa, 30, was taking a client to the 29,032ft summit – the highest in the world – when he saw the Malaysian clinging to a rope and shivering in the freezing air.

He was stranded in the area branded the “death zone” – where temperatures can dip below -22F (-30C) and there is little or no oxygen.

Gelje wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat and heroically hauled him 1,900 feet from the Balcony area to the South Col – the point between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain.

The gruelling feat took around six hours until Nima Tahi Sherpa, another guide, joined the rescue.

Gelje said: “We wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat, dragged him on the snow or carried him in turns on our backs to camp III.”

A helicopter using a long line then lifted him from the 23,500ft high Camp III down to base camp.

Gelje said the climber had “nothing” left in the tank and was “about to die”.

“No one was helping him, no friends, no oxygen, no sherpas with him, no guides – so this is quite dangerous for him”, he told CNN.

Gelje added that the “massively difficult” rescue mission was the “hardest in my life”.

Before pulling off his life-saving rescue, Gelje said he first had to convince his Chinese client to give up his own summit attempt and descend the mountain, saying it was more important for him to rescue the climber.

Nepal issued a record 478 permits for Everest during this year’s March to May climbing season.

At least 12 climbers have died - the highest number for eight years - and another five are still missing.