Abdul Waheed Waraich († 41) had already climbed the summit of the highest mountain in the world, happily holding the flag with the Swiss and Pakistani coat of arms in the camera. He was already on his way down when he collapsed and died. A death from “exhaustion” was said to be the case after the accident two weeks ago.
Now the Tyrolean expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach expresses an explosive suspicion in the «Spiegel»: The coronavirus could be behind the death of the Swiss, as well as that of an American who was traveling with the same expedition company!
“Coughing from locked tents”
Exhaustion alone is not a cause of death. “As a relative, I would recover the body and have it autopsied, including a corona test,” said the Tyrolean.
The situation on Mount Everest is dramatic. The whole region is shielded, and nobody is allowed to go up or leave the base camp. There are now over 100 Covid cases on the mountain. However, the actual number is likely to be significantly higher.
Furtenbach himself had a positive case in his team on Everest. It is unclear where the mountaineer was infected. “When I walk through the base camp here, I hear coughing from the locked tents. Not the usual cough that arises from the altitude, but one that sounds really sick, ”he told the newspaper.
Expedition canceled on the mountain
The outbreak would be kept secret from the official side. The Nepalese authorities have not yet confirmed a positive case on the highest mountain in the world. In the meantime, Furtenbach has canceled the expedition on Everest.
It was not until the beginning of May that Nepal closed 22 of the 35 border crossings to neighboring India, where daily infections have been increasing exponentially since mid-March. The Indian mutation is spreading accordingly in Nepal as well, at the beginning of the month the government confirmed almost 10,000 cases per day, the 7-day average is currently just under 8,000 cases. (hah)