Chinese climber dies while ascending Lhotse

KATHMANDU - A Chinese climber, Xiaoshi Li, 58, died in wee hours of Monday while attempting to climb Lhotse mountain in Sagarmatha region, expedition organizer said.

"Li died due to sickness on his way to Lhotse peak," Nivesh Karki, manager of Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd., the expedition organizer said. Li had fallen sick two days ago.

"Mr Xiaoshi Li, citizen of Republic of China got altitude sickness on Saturday at the height of 8,000 meters while approaching the summit of Lhotse. The rescue operation by the helicopter was operated for two days but could not be successful due to bad weather at the height where Lee had fallen sick," Mountaineering Section of Ministry of Tourism said in a statement on Monday. Li had fallen sick on camp 4.

There were six Chinese nationals in the expedition team led by Wei Zhang, 38. Names of other members are: Yi Bai, 60, Xiaobin Qiu, 44, Anjie Wei, 27, Zhenjia Li, 48.8,516 meter high Lhotse Peak adjoins Qomolangma (also known as Mt Everest in the West), rising 2,000 feet above the South Col. It is the fourth highest mountain on earth and is connected to the Everest via South Col.

Lhotse is the least climbed 8,000-meter peak in Nepal. The summit is very sharp with no place to sit down.

Last March another Chinese climber Liu Xiangyang from Yunnan province died on Lhotse. The first ascent was made by Swiss Fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss on May 18, 1956.