Bodies of two Indian mountaineers recovered from Mt Kanchenjunga

The bodies of two Indian mountaineers, who died in Nepal due to high altitude sickness near the summit of Mount Kanchenjunga during an expedition to the world's third tallest peak, have been recovered and flown to Kathmandu, officials said here on Sunday.

Biplab Baidya (48) and Kuntal Karar (46) died Wednesday night above Camp IV after they were unable to continue their descent from near the 8,586-metre peak due to hypothermia and snowblindness.

The bodies of Baidya and Kanrar were first carried by rescuers from the mountain's highest camp to near thhe base camp and then flown to Kathmandu in a helicopter. The bodies were kept at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj in the outskirts of Kathmandu for autopsy, said a staff member of Peak Promotion, which conducted the expedition.

According to officials, Biplab made it successfully to the summit point, while Kuntal fell sick on his way and could not make it to the top. The duo, who were part of a five-member team of climbers from West Bengal, died while climbing down from the peak.

Mount Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal delimited in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River.