Surprise As Everest Guide Feared Dead Found Alive After Missing For 6 Days

A veteran Sherpa climbing guide who was feared dead after going missing high on Mount Everest has been found alive after surviving nearly a week on the world’s highest peak without food or bottled oxygen.

Fifty-two-year-old Hillary Dawa Sherpa had not been seen or heard from since May 29, when he was last spotted resting above Camp 3 at an altitude of 7,060 metres (23,163 feet).

His disappearance sparked fears that he had perished on the mountain after becoming separated from his client and climbing team during their descent.

The group was among the last climbers on Everest before the mountain closed for the season. By then, the ladders installed by Sherpas across the treacherous Khumbu Icefall had already been removed, making any movement through the area even more dangerous.

With no radio contact and no trace of him for six days, relatives had begun preparing funeral rites, convinced he would not return.

However, what appeared to be a tragedy turned into a remarkable survival story on Thursday when a mountain clean-up crew spotted Hillary Dawa crawling through the Khumbu Icefall. Exhausted, frostbitten and severely weakened, he was nevertheless alive.

“When we first heard about the rescue, we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father,” his daughter, Mendo Lhamu, told the Associated Press. “So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.”

Rescuers provided him with food and water before he was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, where he is receiving treatment for frostbite and other health complications.

Videos circulating on social media showed the experienced climber being carried on another climber’s back through rocky terrain during the descent. In separate footage, he was seen being transported on a trolley after arriving at the helipad of HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu.

The mountaineering community has described his survival as extraordinary, given the harsh conditions he endured alone on the mountain.

“This is nothing short of a miracle, surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh conditions,” veteran mountaineer Ang Tshering Sherpa told the Associated Press.

The dramatic rescue has also raised questions about the response to Hillary Dawa’s disappearance. Critics have questioned why a dedicated search operation was not launched immediately after he was reported missing.

According to hiking company Nepal Mount Everest, search helicopters deployed earlier this week failed to locate any sign of the missing guide.