A Kenyan climber who disappeared close to the peak of Mount Everest has been discovered deceased.
Forty-year-old Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui and his Nepali guide Nawang Sherpa, aged 44, vanished while attempting to reach the summit of Everest without using supplemental oxygen.
The search team, tasked with finding the guide, has yet to locate them, as reported by a local tourism official to AFP news agency.
Scaling Everest, the world’s highest peak, poses significant challenges and dangers, even for seasoned climbers.
According to the Nepalese newspaper the Himalayan Times, Mr. Sherpa relayed to the base camp that Kirui displayed “unusual behavior” and had “refused to return or even use bottled oxygen.”
Base camp officials informed the paper that communication with the pair was lost shortly after this message.
In his most recent Instagram post, Mr. Kirui expressed confidence in his ability to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen.
“A no-oxygen attempt comes with its special preparations and risks, physically my body is ready,” Mr Kirui wrote, before detailing the precautionary measures he was observing on the climb.
He worked as a banker at one of Kenya’s largest financial institutions.
The news of his passing has deeply impacted the Kenyan mountain climbing community.
“Our brother now rests on the mountain. It’s been a long night,” fellow Kenyan mountaineer James Muhia, who had been sharing regular updates about Mr Kirui’s attempt, said on X (formerly Twitter).
In a previous post, Mr. Muhia had expressed confidence in Mr. Kuria’s ability to complete the climb, citing his adequate equipment, physical fitness, resilience, and training.
Mr. Kirui’s demise marks the fourth fatality on Everest this week.
According to the Himalayan Times, a Romanian climber, a British climber, and his Nepalese guide were also discovered deceased on Tuesday.