Eight-time Mount Everest climber Pemba Sherpa goes missing in Karakoram

Darjeeling: Pemba Sherpa, an eight-time Mount Everest climber from Darjeeling, has gone missing while he was returning with a team of mountaineers. The seasoned mountaineer fell into a crevasse on Friday, police said. 

The incident took place after he successfully scaled the 7,672 metre-high Saser Kangri peak in the Karakoram range.

According to Pemba's wife, his he family lost all communications with him since July 13. However, she is hoping for a miracle to see her husband again.

"Last Friday, a representative of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) brought the news that Pemba Sherpa is missing," she said.

Since the time Pemba went missing, an ITBP team has been conducting searches at the spot. The Darjeeling administration is also keeping a close watch on the developments.

"We are worried about Pemba. He was a skilled person," Animesh Basu of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (NAF) in Siliguri said.

The team of mountaineers that Pemba was leading had begun its journey from Kolkata on June 20, 2018.

(With inputs from PTI)