Singaporean tourist goes missing on Mount Everest

Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya, an executive director at real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, set out from Singapore to Nepal to climb the world’s highest peak last month and was due to return home on June 4, The Strait Times reported.

However, his family last heard from him at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and has not been able to contact him since. They have reached out to relevant governments.

Shrinivas was part of an expedition organized by Seven Summit Treks, a Nepalese company that offers guided climbs on Mount Everest and other mountains.

He was reportedly last in contact with base camp officials at around 8,500 m.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi has been in close contact with Shrinivas’ family, local authorities in Nepal and emergency medical services.

A Malaysian and a Chinese climber recently died on Mount Everest, bringing the number of deaths on the mountain this climbing season to nine, AFP reported on Friday.

On average, about five climbers die on Mount Everest every spring. But this year, the toll has nearly doubled, a little more than halfway through the season.

The area above 8,000 m is known as the ‘death zone,’ where thin air and low oxygen levels heighten the risk of altitude sickness and the terrain is notoriously difficult.

Nepal has issued 478 permits for Everest to foreign climbers this season, which runs until early June.