Fatal accident on Everest North Side: Korean climber dead

[7summits]

HimEx just sent this out:
"There has been an incident on Everest involving a Korean Team. There is one definite fatality and maybe 4 more.

Neither Himalayan Experience Team has been involved in the accident.
There are no casualties among Himalayan Experience staff or members.

Please do not e-mail or telephone the expedition regarding this matter.

Communication lines are prioritized for management of the recovery operation and contact with the local and Korean authorities. "

When we know more we will post it here.

[7summits]

More info about the Korean death(s):

S. Korean Climbers Missing on Mt. Everest

SEOUL, South Korea — Rescue crews launched a search for two South Korean climbers missing on Mount Everest and are looking for a fellow mountaineer known to have died, an official said Friday.

The trio — members of a seven-member expedition team from South Korea's Keymyung University — went missing Wednesday, university spokesman Chung Jung-yong said.

One of them, 36-year-old Park Moo-taek, was found dead Thursday near the summit of the 29,000-foot mountain, and rescue workers are trying to recover the body, Chung said. The two others — 38-year-old Paek Jun-ho and 28-year-old Jang Min — are believed to be somewhere near their dead colleague, he said.

Chung said other climbers on the mountain have been radioed to help in the search. Keymyung University has also hired seven Sherpa guides for the rescue operation, he added.

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May 21, 2004 - 7:39 a.m.

(from reflector.com


MountEverest.net added the following:

Thursday 20th, Everest North
Japanese climber Shoko Ota dies after summiting, 300-350 m below summit, fell on ropes and went unconscious
Bulgarian Hristo Hristov summits
Park Moo-Taek found dead Bulgarian climber Hristo Hristov goes missing

Friday 21st, Everest North
Other two Koreans found dead, Chang Min and Paek Jun-Ho
Montagna reports that Giuseppe Pompili and Adriano Dal Cin went up. Pompili came back, but Dal Cin has not been heard from since yesterday when he said he would go for summit.
(...)
Park Moo-Taek had 7, 8,000ers; and a very speedy Everest, K2, and Kangch in 1 yr 11 mo and 27 days.
Nils Antezana is 69 years old and second oldest on Everest after Yuichiro MIURA.
Shoko Ota was 63 and 80 days the second oldest to summit Everest after Tamae WATANABE who is 63 years and 176 days

Some additional info from the HeraldSun

Missing climbers found dead
From correspondents in Seoul, South Korea
22may04

TWO South Korean climbers who were missing on Mount Everest have been found dead, an official said today.

Another colleague was found dead earlier.
The trio - members of a seven-member expedition from South Korea's Keymyung University - went missing Wednesday near the peak, university spokesman Chung Jung-yong said.

Paek Jun-ho, 38, and Jang Min, 28, were found dead yesterday about 8,450 metres up the mountain, Chung said. The university received the news from the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, he said.

One of their colleagues, 36-year-old Park Moo-taek, was found dead yesterday.
There was no information available about the cause of the deaths.
The university will dispatch officials to recover the bodies and bring them home, Chung said.

[7summits]

The Korean Times provides backgrounds on the climbers and let us put faces to the names.
Too many people die unknown, this accounts for too many people always putting their summit success before someone else's life....



Three Mountaineers Found Dead in Mount Everest
By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter
Two Korean mountaineers who had been missing on Mount Everest in Nepal for two days were found dead on Friday afternoon.



Paek Jun-ho, 38, and Chang Min, 28, were discovered about 8,750 meters up the mountain by a foreign expedition team.

Earlier, another team member _ 36 -year-old Park Moo-taek _ was found dead at around noon on Thursday at a point 8,700 meters up the mountain, according to university officials.

They were part of a seven-member expedition sent to Nepal by Keimyung University on March 15.

Park and Chang reportedly went missing while on their way to the base camp after successfully climbing the 8,848-meter peak at around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

But they soon lost communication with the camp, and team member Paek Jun-ho, 38, who left in search of them later in the day, also went missing.

Paek met his death while conducting search operations alone, after the two Sherpas who accompanied him came down the mountain in the middle of the search due to safety issues.

Park's body was found by a Korean mountaineer on Thursday morning. The deceased was known as a talented mountaineer, having conquered several challenging mountain peaks such as K2 and Lhotse. He is presumed to have died after suffering from snow blindness.
The remaining four members of the expedition are reported to be in a safe condition.

The team had left for Mount Everest to mark the 50th anniversary of the university's founding, which was on Thursday.

A Keimyung University official said that the search operation had experienced difficulties as Park was discovered right below the peak of Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,750 meters.

05-21-2004 17:46