Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik condoles mountaineer Kalpana Das's death

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday expressed grief at the demise of renowned mountaineer Kalpana Das in a mishap on Mt Everest and directed the sports department to bring back her mortal remains.

The 49-year-old mountaineer from Odisha died on Thursday while descending from the peak.

"The chief minister directed the sports department to take steps through diplomatic channel to bring back the mortal remains of Kalpana Das to Odisha," an official at the Chief Minister's Office said.

Das, who was a member of the 'Three Women Expedition' group, died while coming down from the peak.

She hailed from Dhenkanal district of Odisha and held a number of records for scaling several high peaks in India, Nepal, South America, Australia and Europe.

As per official records, Kalpana had scaled Mt Everest in 2008 from the Nepal side.