Kerala mountaineer stuck on Mt Denali in US, seeks help

Thiruvananthapuram: A popular mountaineer from Kerala, Shaikh Hassan Khan is reportedly stuck in Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America.

Khan, who was on a mission to place a banner congratulating the Indian armed forces for Operation Sindoor, sent an SOS over satellite phone.

He said in the SOS message that he was stuck in severe storm at 17,000 feet with limited food and water to survive.

The text sent by Hassan read, "hi this is shaikh. i am on an expedition to mount denali, the hightest peak of north america. we are stuck in a severe storm at 17000 Feet at camp 5 (sic)."

"Less Food And Water to survive. i am here on a mission to hold a banner to congratulate our armed forces for operation sindoor. only god can help us (sic)," it further read.

BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar subsequently alerted external affairs minister S Jaishankar.

Tagging Indian Embassy US and PM Narendra Modi, Chandrasekhar wrote on X, "I hv alerted @DrSJaishankar and his team. I am also tagging Indian Embassy in Washington DC @IndianEmbassyUS to please help. Stay Safe."

Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony has also sent a letter to Jaishankar seeking immediate assistance to Khan who is trapped due to a severe storm in the mountain.

“Shaikh Hasan Khan, famous mountaineer from Kerala reportedly trapped on Mount Denali in America. He was on a mission to hoist the flag to congratulate the Indian Army for Operation Sindoor when he was trapped due to severe storm."

“He sent message requesting for urgent rescue and assistance due to shortage of water and food. Khan belongs to my parliamentary constituency Pathanamthitta."

“I request you to kindly give urgent direction to our mission in US to intervene in this matter and do all the possible assistance to help Khan,” Antony said in his letter.

Khan, who is an employee of the Kerala government, had scaled several peaks across continents including the Mount Everest in 2022.

(With PTI inputs)