According to his family, the body of a Kenyan climber who passed away on Mount Everest last week will stay there.
When Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui was on a risky expedition to climb Mount Everest without additional oxygen, he passed away.
Along with his Nepalese guide, the 40-year-old mountaineer plunged into a chasm some 48 meters (160 feet) below the 8,849-meter peak.
According to Kirui’s family, it would be very dangerous for the rescue crew to remove his body from such a high altitude.
Officials from Nepal’s tourism department asserted that it was illegal to leave dead bodies on the mountain.
Even for seasoned climbers, scaling the world’s tallest peak, Everest, is regarded as exceedingly hazardous and challenging.
Alongside Nepali climber Nawang Sherpa, Kirui was attempting to become the first African to reach the summit of Everest without the use of oxygen.
Mr. Sherpa remains unaccounted for.
Kirui’s relatives made the “difficult” choice to allow his remains to lie on the mountain, citing extensive consultations and “careful consideration of all the circumstances” in a statement released on Wednesday.
“Retrieving his body from that high up would be risky for the rescue team, the family does not wish to endanger any life,” added the statement.
Cheruiyot had a great affection for the mountains, and they reciprocated his feelings. It continued, “We take comfort in the knowledge that he is sleeping in his happy place.
Nonetheless, the family announced that memorial ceremonies would be held at his Chepterit community in the Rift Valley region as well as in Nairobi, the capital.
Concerns have also been raised regarding the expense of returning his body home to be buried.
The body would have cost over $190,000 (£150,000) to recover, and the mission requires about eight persons to climb the mountain.
According to a Nepalese official, Mr. Kirui’s adventure operator would have to provide a letter of promise stating that they will carry his body down the following climbing season.
“Logistically, it would not have been possible to bring the body down this time because it was already close to the end of the spring climbing season.”
They informed the operator that the department would need to receive the commitment letter shortly.
According to the official, Mr. Kirui’s body was reachable.
According to Dambar Parajuli, the head of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, the industry had decided that bodies that were easily accessible should be taken off the mountain and sent down.
However, we have also informed the administration that bodies that have become completely buried in snow, tumbled into crevasses, or fallen towards Tibet (Everest is located along the boundary between China and Nepal) cannot be removed.
However, most families that lose a loved one on Everest would rather to remove the body.
Of the 330 climbers who have lost their lives on the highest mountain in the world, it is thought that about 200 of their bodies are still there.
The banker Kirui’s ascent had garnered significant attention in Kenya, with other climbers regularly providing updates on the endeavor via social media.
Kirui had disclosed to the BBC prior to his tragic ascent that he had completed rigorous physical training for the task.
He had stated on Instagram the other day that he was confident he could climb Everest without using more oxygen.
But in the event that he needed assistance, he informed the BBC that Mr. Sherpa was providing emergency oxygen support and that he had emergency evacuation coverage.
Most people climb Everest in April and May when weather conditions are most suitable.
This season, which finishes in a few days, has apparently claimed the lives of four climbers thus far.
