Draft:2023 Mt. Everest Deaths

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Close Up View of Mount Everest from Kala Patthar in 2023.

Throughout 2023, a total of eighteen climbers attempting to summit Mount Everest would be killed, with most of the fatalities being in separate fatal accidents, ranging from falls to high altitude sickness.[1][2] 2023 would become one of the deadliest years to climb Mount Everest, alongside 1996, 2014, and 2015.[3][4][5]

Background

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Mount Everest is generally considered the tallest mountain on earth, standing at a peak altitude of 8,848 meters (29,031 feet).[6][7][8] Due to its height, it grew in popularity for climbers to summit the mountain. Tragically, multiple deadly mountaineering disasters occurred within the mountain, the deadliest being the 2015 Mt. Everest Avalanche, which killed 22 climbers at base camp.[9][10][11]

In 2023, Nepal issued 478 permits for the climbing season, a record high as overcrowding in Mount Everest became one of the main causes for the high fatality count.[12][13] Main causes for death during the season was due to mainly high altitude sickness, serac falls, and disappearances.

Notable deaths

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On April 12, 2023, three Sherpas, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, Pemba Tenzing Sherpa, and Da Chhiree Sherpa, were ferrying climbing gear for their clients, working with the Imagine Nepal team at the Khumbu Icefall, when a large serac piece fell on to the three guides and swept them into a crevasse. The avalanche was reported to have occured at the southeast ridge route of the mountain early in the morning. None of the bodies would be recovered, also becoming the first fatalities of the season.[14][15]

On May 18, two climbers died from separate fatal accidents. The first was Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus. A 59 year old Indian climber who wanted to become the first Asian woman with a pacemaker to climb Everest, however, got ill at base camp. She repeatedly tried to climb from basecamp, although had an extremely difficult time, doing so multiple times. She was "forcibly" airlifted to a hospital, although she later succumbed to her illness.[16][17][18][19] Xuebin Chen, a Chinese climber also died on May 18 while he was ascending up the mountain. As he reached the south summit of the mountain, he attempted to change his eyeglass and throw his oxygen canister from the death zone, before "he fell down".[20]

On May 20, Malaysian climber, Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim, descended down the mountain after successfully reaching the summit. He lost contact with his group between Camp III and IV, and disappeared. Cause of death remains uncertain, although it was likely accidental.[21][22]

On May 21, Jason Bernard Kennison would attempt to summit Mount Everest to raise awareness for people with spinal cord injuries, motivated from a car crash he had from his past. Jason managed to reach the summit and was descending, when he started showing abnormal behaviors to his Sherpas, likely suffering from illness, where he later collapsed near the Balcony. His remains were not recovered.[23][24] The same day, Ang Kami Sherpa, a kitchen staff, died from a fall near Camp II. His remains were later recovered.[25]

On May 25, expert climber, Szilárd Suhajda, who previously had successfully climbed K2, Broad Peak, and Lhotse without supplementary oxygen, would disappear, last seen near the Hillary Step, surrounded by oxygen bottles discarded by other climbers, photographed by a climber. He was reported to have passed out and witnessed by passing climbers who couldn't help him. Rescue teams were unsuccessful in recovering his body, and he likely died due to HACE.[26][27][28][29] Also on May 25, Ranjit Kumar Shah would disappear, last seen on the south summit.[30]

On May 26, Pieter Swart, an anesthesiologist from Vancouver, would suffer from a fatal respiratory event after descending from Camp IV. He lost consciousness near Camp III and suffered cardiac arrest on his way to Camp II where a helicopter was waiting for him.[31][32]

The last death of 2023 came from Swapnil Adinath Garad, an Indian Pune cop who suffered through acute mountain sickness near the south summit. He was evacuated and died in a Kathmandu hospital[33][1].

List of deaths

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Name Date Nationality Cause of death Location of death Sources
Lakpa Rita Sherpa April 12, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal Swept by a serac fall Khumbu Icefall [14][15]
Pemba Tenzing Sherpa April 12, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal
Da Chhiree Sherpa April 12, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal
Jonathan Sugarman May 1, 2023 🇺🇸United States Illness Camp II [34]
Phurba Sherpa May 16, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal Illness Below Camp IV [35]
Victor Brinza May 17, 2023 🇲🇩Moldova Illness Camp IV [36]
Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus May 18, 2023 🇮🇳India Illness Base Camp [16][17][18][18][19]
Xuebin Chen May 18, 2023 🇨🇳China Fall South Summit [20]
Ag Askandar Bin Ampuan Yaacub May 19, 2023 🇲🇾Malaysia Illness South Col [37]
Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya May 19, 2023 🇸🇬Singapore HACE 8,500m [38]
Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim May 20, 2023 🇲🇾Malaysia Unknown, disappeared Between Camp IV and III [21][22]
Jason Bernard Kennison May 21, 2023 🇦🇺Australia Illness Balcony [23][24]
Ang Kami Sherpa May 21, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal Fall Camp II [25]
Suhajda Szilárd May 25, 2023 🇭🇺Hungary Unknown, likely from HACE Hillary Step [26][27][28][29]
Ranjit Kumar Shah May 25, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal Disappearance South Summit [30]
Pieter Swart May 26, 2023 🇨🇦Canada Respiratory event Descending from Camp VI [31]
Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa June 3, 2023   🇳🇵Nepal HAPE South Summit [39]
Swapnil Adinath Garad June 7, 2023 🇮🇳India Acute mountain sickness South Summit [33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (2023-05-30). "Climate change to blame for up to 17 deaths on Mount Everest, experts say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  2. ^ "5 Mount Everest Climbers Are Dead and 3 Missing This Summit Season (Published 2024)". 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  3. ^ "Deadliest Day: Sherpas Bear Everest's Risks (Published 2014)". 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  4. ^ "Nepal earthquake leaves eight Everest climbers dead". The Independent. 2015-04-26. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  5. ^ Krakauer, Jon (1998). Into thin air : a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster. Internet Archive. New York : Anchor Books/Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-49208-9.
  6. ^ "Mount Everest is more than two feet taller, China and Nepal announce". Science. 2020-12-08. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  7. ^ "Mt Everest grows by nearly a metre to new height". 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  8. ^ "Mount Everest | Height, Map, Deaths, Facts, & Climbers | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-08-13. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  9. ^ "Nepal earthquake leaves eight Everest climbers dead". The Independent. 2015-04-26. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  10. ^ "2015 Mount Everest avalanches | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  11. ^ "Nepal earthquake: Surviving a deadly Everest avalanche". Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  12. ^ Schwartz, Ariel. "At least 12 climbers died on Mount Everest this year, and altitude sickness is partially to blame". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  13. ^ "Nepal's top court directs government to limit climbing permits". everestchronicle.com. 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  14. ^ a b Sharma, Gopal (2023-04-12). "Three Nepali sherpa climbers go missing on Everest". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  15. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2023-04-12). "Update: Hope Fades for Three Sherpas Missing in Everest Icefall » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  16. ^ a b Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-18). "Indian woman climber dies, Everest death toll reaches 7". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  17. ^ a b ""Told Her To Abandon": Indian Climber Dies, Fell Sick At Everest Base Camp". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  18. ^ a b c "Climber who wanted to become 'first Asian woman with pacemaker' to scale Everest dies". The Independent. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  19. ^ a b "Indian Climber Who Died At Base Camp Wanted To Be First Asian Woman With Pacemaker To Scale Everest". Indiatimes. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  20. ^ a b Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-18). "Xuebin Chen from China died near Everest south summit: Sources". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  21. ^ a b IANS (2023-05-20). "Nepal: Physically Challenged Malaysian Climber Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim Missing After Summiting Mount Everest | 🌎 LatestLY". LatestLY. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  22. ^ a b BERNAMA (2024-11-05). "Missing Climber: Effort To Locate Hawari Continues With Us$5,000 Reward". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  23. ^ a b "Australian engineer dies at Balcony area, Everest death toll reaches 10, two still missing". The Himalayan Times. 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  24. ^ a b May, Natasha (2023-05-22). "Australian climber Jason Kennison dies on Mount Everest while returning from summit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  25. ^ a b Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-23). "Everest death toll reaches 11, two still missing". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  26. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2023-05-27). "It's Over: Searchers Can't Find Suhajda Szilard on Everest » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  27. ^ a b Tamás, Belák (2023-04-27). "Suhajda Szilárd túl van az első akklimatizációs körön". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  28. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2023-06-02). "Last Photo: Fellow Climber Captures Final Glimpse of Suhajda Szilard's Everest Journey » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  29. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2023-05-26). "Everest: Rescuers Hurry Toward Suhajda Szilard » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  30. ^ a b Service, Himalayan News (2023-05-27). "17 feared dead on Everest this season". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  31. ^ a b "Vancouver doctor dies while climbing Mount Everest - BC | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  32. ^ "Vancouver anesthesiologist dies during Mount Everest expedition". vancouversun. Archived from the original on 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  33. ^ a b "Pune cop Swapnil Garad declared 'brain dead' in Kathmandu after his health deteriorated during Mount Everest expedition". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  34. ^ Magee, Manveena Suri,Sugam Pokharel,Caolán (2023-05-02). "American mountaineer dies during climb to Mount Everest". CNN. Retrieved 2025-09-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-16). "Sherpa climber died below Camp IV, Nepal Army Captain being rescued from Everest". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  36. ^ Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-17). "European climber dies at Camp IV on Everest". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  37. ^ Online, T. H. T. (2023-05-19). "Malaysian police dies on Everest, death toll reaches nine". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  38. ^ "Singaporean goes missing near Mount Everest peak after separating from group; family appeals for urgent help". CNA. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  39. ^ Nestler, Stefan (2021-06-09). "Mourning for Everest climber Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa". Adventure Mountain. Retrieved 2025-09-17.