Missing Indian climber found dead on Mount Everest

A 58-year-old Indian mountaineer, who went missing on Mount Everest nearly a week ago, was today found dead while attempts were being made to locate another Indian climber whose body was reportedly lying above 8,000 metres on the world's highest mountain.

According to Wangchu Sherpa, the managing director at Trekking Camp Nepal that managed the expedition, a team of six Sherpas retrieved the body of Paresh Chandra Nath above the camp IV.

His body is being brought to the camp II, Sherpa said.

However, they could not move ahead from the higher camp to locate another missing climber Goutam Ghosh whose body was also reportedly lying above 8,000 metres on the high mountain.

"High wind forced the rescuers to descend from the Camp IV after locating Paresh Nath's body," he said.

Other climbers who made it to summit early this week are reported to have seen the body of Ghosh.

Nath and Ghosh were near the summit of the 8,848-metre peak last Saturday when they lost contact with the rest of the four-member team, all of whom were Indians.

Five people have died so far during this Himalayan climbing season, which saw about 400 mountaineers summit the world's highest peak, officials have said.

A Dutch and an Australian woman died of altitude sickness last Friday and Saturday respectively. A Nepali guide died on Thursday after he slipped and fell 2,000 metres. Another Indian climber had died a few days ago.

More than three dozen other climbers have developed frostbite or become sick near the summit in the past few days.

Nearly 40 climbers including an Indian woman have developed frostbite during this Himalayan climbing season

Last year, devastating earthquake caused the climbing season to be canceled and climbing attempts were largely abandoned in 2014 after an avalanche above the base camp killed 16 Sherpa guides.

At least 19 climbers were killed in the avalanche triggered by the earthquake.