Thirty-six-year-old Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki has been found dead on Mount Everest.
The Himalayan Times reports that Kuriki was found dead in his tent this morning at Camp 2. In his Facebook posts over the previous few weeks, Kuriki had complained of pain and a persistent cough. Yesterday he had posted from Camp 2 at 7,400m:
“Namaste, I’m here at 7,400m now. I feel the pain and the difficulty of this mountain, and I go up and up. I want to proceed very carefully.”
According to the Himalayan Times sources, he was discovered by Sherpa climbers. Efforts are now underway to remove his body from the mountain.
A cause of death has not yet been announced.
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Update: Kuriki’s office posted an official statement on his Facebook page at around 15:00JST.
I’m sorry to make such an announcement, but Kuriki was discovered to have passed away on Everest as he was making his way down.
Kuriki stopped responding to his radio and his headlamp could not be seen from below at night, so the photographers close to C2 climbed the same route he had taken to search for him. Kuriki’s body was was found shortly ago, already cold.
He swore he would return home alive, so it is very unfortunate to report such an outcome.
He promised he would not fixate on the summit in order to come home alive.
But perhaps in the end, he was unable to give up his dream.
We sincerely apologize the delay in making this report.
We are also very sorry to say we do not know anything further such as the altitude at which he was found, but will announce such details as soon as they become clear.
Thank you so much for your kind support for Kuriki.
Sachiko Kobayashi, Kuriki Office (Translated by ExWeb)
Kuriki’s final update on his Facebook page was posted by his support team some 5 hours before, stating that Kuriki’s condition was bad and he had decided to turn back at 7,400m.
