Chinese man dies trying to climb Lhotse peak in Nepal

A 58-year-old Chinese climber died Monday while attempting to climb the Lhotse peak, the world's fourth highest, officials said.

Xiaoshi Li died in Sagarmatha region, after falling sick on his way to the 8,516 metre high Lhotse peak, Nivesh Karki, manager of the expedition organiser, Seven Summit Treks Pvt. Ltd., told Xinhua.

The mountaineering section of Nepal's ministry of tourism said Xiaoshi Li, "got altitude sickness" Saturday at the height of 8,000 metres while approaching the summit of Lhotse.

A rescue operation by a helicopter could not be successful due to bad weather at the height where Lee had fallen sick, it said.

There were six Chinese nationals in the expedition team led by Wei Zhang, 38.

The other members were Yi Bai, 60, Xiaobin Qiu, 44, Anjie Wei, 27, and Zhenjia Li, 48.

The Lhotse peak adjoins Mount Everest, rising 2,000 feet above South Col.

Lhotse is the least climbed 8,000-metre peak in Nepal. The summit is very sharp with no place to sit.

In March 2012, another Chinese climber Liu Xiangyang died on his way to Lhotse.

The first ascent on the peak was made by Swiss Fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss May 18, 1956.