A Swiss and an American have died on Mount Everest in the season's first casualties on the world's highest mountain, expedition organisers said on Thursday, as the Nepali region struggles with an escalating Covid-19 outbreak. Both climbers died of exhaustion while descending the slopes of the mountain on Wednesday. The Swiss, who was 41 and from St Gallen in eastern Switzerland, had already reached the peak, but began experiencing issues as he came down. The US national had reached the Hillary Step, but had to return because of snow blindness and exhaustion. “Additional sherpas were sent with supplies and oxygen but unfortunately they could not save them,” Thaneshwar Guragai, a manager of the Seven Summit Treks company, told Reuters. It is not clear when their bodies will be brought down. Bad weather conditions have forced climbers to descend to lower altitudes for now. Record year for foreign climbers Mountaineering journalist Billi Bierling heads the Himalayan Database, the...
