Dozens Came Down With COVID-19 on Everest. Nepal Says It Never Happened.
Bhadra Sharma and Emily Schmall, New York Times
June 27, 2021
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This photograph taken on May 31, 2021 shows mountaineers lined up as they climb a slope during their ascend to summit Mount Everest in Nepal. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)LAKPA SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images
KATHMANDU, Nepal In April at Mount Everest base camp, where climbers acclimatize to the extreme altitude before heading to the summit of the world’s highest peak, Jangbu Sherpa fell ill with a cough and fever.
At 17,590 feet, his symptoms quickly worsened. The expedition company that had hired Sherpa to help a Bahraini prince climb Everest had him airlifted to a hospital in the capital, Kathmandu, where he tested positive for COVID-19.
Bhadra Sharma and Emily Schmall, The New York Times
Published: 27 Jun 2021 11:51 AM BdST
Updated: 27 Jun 2021 11:58 AM BdST Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Monika Deupala/File Photo
In April at Mount Everest base camp, where climbers acclimatise to the extreme altitude before heading to the summit of the world’s highest peak, Jangbu Sherpa fell ill with a cough and fever. );
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At 17,590 feet, his symptoms quickly worsened. The expedition company that had hired Sherpa to help a Bahraini prince climb Everest had him airlifted to a hospital in the capital, Kathmandu, where he tested positive for COVID-19.
Nepals tourism department, which oversees Everest expeditions, maintained this position even as people were being airlifted off the mountain and expeditions were being canceled — a rare event because of the great expense and effort made to train, travel to Nepal and try to summit Everest.