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News18
04-06-2025
- Health
- News18
Bengal Climber's Body Still On Everest, Here's How Much It Might Cost To Retrieve It
Last Updated: Even if Sherpas reach the body, retrieval is tough—especially if it's in a hard-to-access spot or at an altitude too high for helicopters to operate safely The body of Indian mountaineer Subrata Ghosh, who died in May while descending Mount Everest, remains stranded just below the perilous Hillary Step. The extreme altitude, treacherous terrain, and narrow icy paths of the 'Death Zone' make the recovery mission incredibly complex—and expensive. Experts estimate it may take over Rs 1.5 crore and a team of highly skilled Sherpas to retrieve his frozen body from the world's highest peak. Mountaineer Subrata Ghosh died just below the Hillary Step, a perilous section near the 8,848.86-metre (29,032-foot) summit of Mount Everest. The Hillary Step lies in what is known as the 'Death Zone'—an area above 8,000 metres where oxygen levels are dangerously low. This stretch is especially risky for climbers both on their way to the summit and during their descent. According to the Himalayan Times, Subrata Ghosh reached the summit on the afternoon of May 10. Bodhraj Bhandari, Managing Director of Snowy Horizon Treks, which organised the expedition, said, 'Subrata Ghosh reached the summit around 2 pm, but while descending, he began showing signs of exhaustion and altitude sickness. Eventually, he refused to continue the descent." His Sherpa guide, Champal Tamang, tried to persuade him to move, but was unsuccessful. Tamang returned alone to Camp IV late on May 15 and reported the incident early on May 16. Efforts On To Retrieve His Body Efforts are underway to recover the body of Subrata Ghosh and bring it back to the base camp. The exact cause of death will be known after the post-mortem. This is the second death on the world's highest peak in this mountaineering season. Another climber, 45-year-old Philip Santiago of the Philippines, died in a high-altitude camp (South Col) just below the summit. It is believed that Santiago became exhausted while reaching Camp IV on May 14. He died while resting in his tent. Both Subrata Ghosh and Philip Santiago were part of an international expedition organized by Snowy Horizon Treks. Subrata Ghosh's death certificate has been issued, but his body remains frozen on the world's highest peak. Recovering the body of a climber from high altitudes like Everest and Kanchenjunga is a very challenging task. That is why these peaks are often referred to as the 'world's highest cemetery." Why Is It Difficult To Bring Down The body? The first hurdle in bringing down Subrata Ghosh's body is the huge expense involved. According to an Indian Express report, Debdas Nandi, advisor to the West Bengal Mountaineering and Adventure Sports Foundation under the state's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, said, 'Bringing back bodies from heights is a huge task. It is very expensive." He said that the expenses incurred on this include wages of Sherpas, insurance, medical, logistics support and helicopter fare. Debdas Nandi said that very few companies are able to carry out such missions, which further increases the cost. He said that out of more than 100 expedition organizers, only two or three are experts in retrieving bodies. The cost in Subrata Ghosh's case could be more than Rs 1 crore. Recovery Mission Estimated At Rs 1.5 Crore One of the organisers has estimated a budget of Rs 1.5 crore for the body retrieval, said Debashish Biswas, a fellow climber of Subrata Ghosh. Eight to ten skilled Sherpas will be needed for the mission. The cost of hiring them alone could exceed Rs 50 lakh, Biswas added. Most people who die on Everest fall in the 'death zone', located at an altitude of over 8,000 metres. This area is riddled with crevasses hidden under snow and ice. Even if a team of Sherpas reaches the body, retrieving it can be extremely difficult—especially if it lies in a hard-to-reach location or at an altitude where helicopters cannot operate, or where there's a constant risk of avalanches and falling ice. Debdas Nandi said, 'There are some places from where carrying the body is extremely challenging. At these places, the rocks are almost vertical. The body has to be slowly lowered using ropes. The weight of a frozen body can exceed 90 kg with equipment. If it is stuck on the mountain, then lifting it and bringing it down presents an additional challenge." He added that the task of bringing the body down or transporting it to a lower altitude can be safely done by helicopter, but the process can take several days. 'Helicopters can go up to Camp 2 on Everest, which is located at an altitude of 6,750 meters (22,145 feet). Only Sherpas can go higher than this," Nandi explained. Subrata Ghosh's case is especially difficult because the climbing season (March-May, when the weather is relatively stable) ended on May 29. Since then, no rescue support is available. Debdas Nandi, who was among over 100 climbers to reach the summit, said, 'Subrata Ghosh's body is lying at a very dangerous spot, about 500–600 metres below the Everest peak. The place is so narrow that two people cannot pass together. Even if the family contacts the government, the retrieval can only be attempted later — it's not possible in this season." Despite the high cost and enormous challenges, the bodies of many climbers have been brought down in the past. This season, Nepal's tourism department had issued 459 permits for Everest expeditions, of which over 100 climbers and guides successfully reached the summit. First Published:
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
I was too tired to bring exhausted Ranaghat climber down: Sherpa
1 2 3 Kolkata: The Sherpa who accompanied Ranaghat climber Subrata Ghosh during his Everest summit said he did not lose sight of him but was too tired to carry the disoriented Ghosh down and had to finally abandon him. The Sherpa too was suffering from hallucinations when he returned to the camp and took more than two days to revive. Ghosh's Sherpa, Palchen Tamang, who suffered frostbite, came down to the Everest Base Camp on Saturday. Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director of Snowy Horizon Treks in Kathmandu, spoke at length with the Sherpa at night. "They started quite late on Wednesday (May 14), around 10 pm. Ghosh was walking slowly and took a lot of time to reach the summit. There was a strong wind after 11 am on Thursday, and that delayed their ascent further. Ghosh was overexcited to make it to the summit and would not listen to his Sherpa. After they made it to the summit, Ghosh was suddenly feeling low on energy," said Bhandari. "When they were approaching the Hillary Step area (a 40-foot vertical rock on the southeast ridge of Everest) while descending, Ghosh suddenly said that he couldn't see anything and he would not move. He sat there on the spot. This is a typical symptom of altitude sickness , especially when the climber is suffering from a low oxygen level. The Sherpa started to convince him to move. They were in the death zone for nearly 16 hours then, and the oxygen reserve was going very low. The Sherpas can withstand such low levels of oxygen, but it is difficult for others," said Bhandari. According to Soumen Sarkar, the climber from Bardhaman who also made it to the summit on the same day, it was windy since morning. "I reached the summit at 6.45 am on Thursday (May 15). It was so windy that we could not even stand for more than 15 minutes. The wind speed increased as the day progressed," he said. When Ghosh gave up and sat there, Tamang decided to help him climb down further. "It took nearly four hours for him to bring him down by 100 meters. But the Sherpa was also getting exhausted, and he sat down with Ghosh. He stayed back with him for the next four hours trying to get him down. But that did not help any further. It was dark, and the Sherpa was all alone with Ghosh somewhere near the Hillary Step. At one point, he gave up. His oxygen level was also low, and he started climbing down without any supplementary oxygen. The sun was almost out when he reached Camp IV the next day," Bhandari said. "It is essential for a climber to understand that one has to forego the summit attempt. I faced a similar situation on Mount Indrasan (Himachal Pradesh) and Batian Peak in Mount Kenya," said Satyarup Siddhanta, Everest Summiteer and Guinness Record Holder.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Time of India
Search for missing Bengal climber may start today
Kolkata: The for Ranaghat climber , who summitted and then went missing while descending from the mountain, is likely to begin on Sunday. The Sherpa, Palchen Tamang — who accompanied Ghosh during the climb — came down to the base camp on Saturday morning. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "We have heard that the Bengal govt has taken an initiative for the search and rescue operation. The process takes time as the team needs at least six Sherpas. Since this is a long operation, Sherpas will need to carry a lot of stuff, including tents, food, and oxygen cylinders. We hope it will start by next week," said Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director of Snowy Horizon Treks in Kathmandu. Bhandari said Tamang reached Camp IV after spending the entire night in the death zone. While Bhandari could speak to the Sherpa briefly, he said the latter exhausted his oxygen and climbed down without any supplementary oxygen support. The Sherpa had also suffered frostbite. S Arun Prasad, district magistrate of Nadia, said they had informed the state govt and urged it to take up the search operation. According to sources, Ghosh started for the summit around 10pm on Wednesday and reached the summit after 16 hours, between 2pm and 3pm on Thursday. His oxygen reserve was almost exhausted by that time, and the weather turned windy. Sarajit Ghosh, brother of Subrata Ghosh, said his brother was in love with the hills. "When mother told him to marry, he always avoided it. Instead, he used to say that was everything to him. He was very sincere about physical exercises and discipline. While all others would take dinner late, he used to have it by 8pm. He never missed his exercise regime."
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Time of India
Tragedy after triumph: 3 from state scale Everest, 1 missing on way down
1 2 Kolkata: What could have been a golden day for Bengal's mountaineers ended in heartbreak on Friday when news reached that one of the three climbers from the state who summitted Mount Everest during the day had gone missing on the way down even as the two others had made it back to camp 4. Subrata Ghosh probably disappeared between South Summit and Balcony in the Everest 'death zone' while descending to camp 4, the final stop on way to the summit. A search and recovery operation is likely to start by Sunday but veteran climbers that TOI spoke to were not very hopeful. On Thursday, 45-year-old Ghosh and 44-year-old Rumpa Das, both Ranaghat residents, had set out for the summit from camp 4 quite late. Ghosh was not feeling well and moved forward slowly. He reached the summit sometime between 2 pm and 3 pm. By then, Das was already on her way down after reaching the top. Soumen Sarkar from Burdwan reached the summit early on Friday and made it back to camp 4. "We are yet to get details of what happened to Ghosh. The sherpa who was with him suddenly realised he was not there. The sherpa's condition was also very bad and he came down to camp 4 very late at night. He is still hallucinating. By Friday evening he was brought down to camp 2," said Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director of Snowy Horizon Treks in Kathmandu. High altitude symptoms for climbers include cerebral oedema and hallucination, rapid heartbeat and frostbite. Between 2019 and 2024, 12 Indians have died on Everest. According to mountaineers in Bengal, the final push from camp IV usually starts early in the evening. Debashis Biswas, who reached the Everest summit in 2010, said, "We started at 7.30 pm and reached the summit around 7.30 am the following day. Everest climbers follow a thumb rule: start the return journey by 10.30 am, even if that means foregoing the summit." Debraj Datta, who reached the Everest summit in 2016, explained, "The death zone on Mt Everest starts from between 7,500 and 8,000 meters. Normally, a climber carries three oxygen cylinders that can sustain life for 18 hours. The more time one spends there, the more oxygen is consumed. That makes it deadlier," he said. Ghosh, an English teacher with a govt school in North 24 Parganas, had started off from his home in Krishnanagar with sister Sumitra Debnath. Both reached the Everest base camp, where Sumitra stayed back as the siblings were finding it difficult to manage the costs, sources said. "Sumitra had summited Mt Lobuche with Ghosh. She is coordinating rescue and recovery from the base camp," said Sanjay Moulik, Ghosh's friend. Ghosh's insurance agency on Friday said they would try to fly him down after he is brought down to camp II. "We heard he is located somewhere near the Summit Ridge at around 8,200 meters. We can try to rescue a climber from a height where we can send a helicopter. If he is alive, we can take a risky mission and try to fly him down from camp II. In case a climber is no more, we can take down the mortal remains only from camp II," said Prateek Gupta, CEO and head of evacuation of ASC 360. Meanwhile, Das, who reached the Everest summit on her second attempt this time, came down to camp II on Friday. An English teacher with the Cooper's Colony High School, she has participated in 12 mountaineering expeditions but had to forego her Everest summit in 2021 after contracting Covid. Sarkar, an engineer with the PWD department, is also a seasoned climber. "He is a wonderful climber and very athletic despite starting at a late age. His agency, 8K Expedition, has already confirmed his Everest summit," said summiteer Moloy Mukherjee.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Time of India
Bengal Everester goes missing on way down
KOLKATA: A 45-year-old mountaineer from Bengal went missing on way down after summiting Mount Everest even as two others from the state scaled the world's highest peak and made it back to their camp late Thursday. Subrata Ghosh probably disappeared in what is referred to by climbers as the 'death zone', near the summit, while descending to Camp IV, the final stop on way to the 8,849-metre peak. A search and recovery operation is likely to start by Sunday but seasoned climbers that TOI spoke to were not very hopeful of his survival. 'We are yet to get details of what happened to Ghosh. The sherpa who was with him suddenly realised he was not there. The sherpa's condition was also very bad. He is still hallucinating,' said Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director of Kathmandu-based Snowy Horizon Treks , which organised the expedition.
