KATHMANDU : Two Japanese climbers who went missing while attempting to scale Mount Gangapurna in Manang district have been found dead, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Hidesuke Taneishi, 40, and Tetsu Hashimoto, 25. They went missing while climbing the 7,455-metre mountain in Ngisyang Rural Municipality-6, Manang.
According to Mukti Prasad Khanal, chief district officer of Manang, the climbers’ bodies were discovered on Thursday at an altitude of around 6,300 metres on the southern side of the mountain. A helicopter operated by Altitude Air located the bodies during a search operation.
The two climbers had arrived in Manang through Cosmo Adventure Pvt. Ltd., accompanied by a Nepali guide. They began their ascent on October 10 and were last in contact with their team on the night of October 15, when they had reached an altitude of approximately 7,050 metres.
After losing contact with the climbers, their Nepali guide, Tumbahang Rai, informed the expedition company, which subsequently launched a search operation.
During an aerial search on October 19, rescuers found the climbers’ bags and trekking poles at the site. However, the two climbers remained missing until their bodies were located at around 11 am on October 23.
Krishna Prasad Poudel, assistant chief district officer of Manang, said the bodies were airlifted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for post-mortem examinations.
Authorities are coordinating with the Japanese Embassy in Nepal to make arrangements for handing over the bodies to the climbers’ families.
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