Chances of recovering bodies of last two missing mountaineers slim as Everest route closes today

The state government has decided to cremate the body of climber Rajib Bhattacharya with full honours. Rajib died while descending from the Mount Dhaulagiri after successfully climbing the summit. His body boxed up in a coffin was brought to the city in a flight along with Sunita Hazra, the lone survivor of the four member expedition team that had climbed Mount Everest.

 

The state government has rendered all possible help to Sunita’s family members. Sunita was seen utterly distressed at the airport. Though, she successfully climbed Mount Everest but she could not enjoy the glorious moments of her victory because all the other three members of the 

expedition team have died on Everest while descending from the summit after successfully scaling it.

She also fell ill while descending but she proved to be lucky enough as another foreign mountaineer lent her an oxygen cylinder. She somehow managed to reach close to camp 3 where she had been rescued from.

Biswas along with Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the minister of state for Youth Affairs department were present at the airport when the flight landed in Kolkata. They monitored the situation and made all the necessary arrangements so that the family members of Sunita and Rajib do not face any problems. Sunita’s son along with other family members were waiting at the airport to see her mother who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nepal after suffering from frost bites and other ailments. She was taken to her residence at Barasat.

She will be admitted to a private hospital as she is not well. Another mountaineer Debdas Dutta who took part in the Everest expedition in another group has returned to the city after successfully climbing the summit.

Rajib’s body was taken to his house at Baranagar in North 24-Parganas on Saturday evening where hundreds of people congregated to express their last tribute to the brave-heart. Arup Biswas and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the minister of state for youth affairs department personally monitored the situation at the airport and they later visited Rajib’s house extending all help to his family members.

Among the three other climbers who had climbed Mount Everest, Subhas Pal’s body has been rescued while the bodies of Paresh Nath and Goutam Ghosh are yet to be recovered. The rescue team of Sherpas could not retrieve the bodies due to inclement weather.

On Sunday they will make the final attempt because the route to Mount Everest will be closed for this season on that day.

Everest is the highest graveyard where the bodies of over 200 climbers lie peacefully in the ice. The body of George Mallory the first climber who along with his colleague Andrew Irvine made the first attempt to reached the summit way back in 1924 lie near the top of Mount Everest. Many believe that Mallory had touched the summit and died while climbing down.

There are others who believe that he died very close to the summit. Green Boot is a familiar term with the climbers. It is nothing but a pair of boot worn by an Indian climber whose body was 

found North Eastern Ridge of Mount Everest.