Family joins rescued Indian climber being treated in Nepal
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
Associated Press
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An Indian climber who was rescued after spending three days trapped in a 300-meter (980-foot) -deep crevasse on Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest mountain, was joined by his family at a hospital in Nepal where he is receiving treatment.
Anurag Maloo fell into the crevasse on Monday. After several attempts, he was finally rescued on Thursday and is being treated in Kathmandu, the capital. His condition has not been released.
Members of Maloo’s family flew to Kathmandu to join him at the hospital. His parents, who live in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, were distraught when they heard the news Monday that their son was missing. They told the Indian Express newspaper that Maloo, 34, was climbing Annapurna and was at Camp 3 of the four camps on the mountain when he was asked to descend due to poor health, which is common during the difficult climb.
“While coming down, he slipped and fell in a crevasse between Camp 3 and Camp 2,” his father, Om Prakash, told the newspaper.
Maloo’s younger brother, Aashish Maloo, said he has a passion for mountaineering and hopes to climb all 14 peaks in the world taller than 8,000 meters (26,240 feet).
Also on Annapurna on Monday, Irish climber Noel Hanna died and another Indian climber, Baljeet Kaur, became ill but survived after spending the night in harsh conditions without the aid of supplement bottled oxygen.
The spring mountaineering season has just begun in Nepal and hundreds of foreigners and local guides have begun climbing the highest peaks.
On Mount Everest, three Sherpa guides have been missing since last week, when they fell into a crevasse on a treacherous section just above base camp on the world’s highest mountain. The crevasse is estimated to be about 50 meters (160 feet) deep.
