A climber from Singapore has been reported missing after he disappeared while descending Mount Everest.
Fearing for his safety as he appeared to have fallen sick at the time, his family is appealing for urgent help to find him.
Source: change.org
They have since launched a petition online to rally support in their search.
According to BNN, Mr Shrinivas Sainis scaled Mount Everest as part of an expedition by Seven Summit Treks. The Nepalese company provides guided climbs, led by experts, on mountains in the country.
The petition on change.org stated that Mr Shrinivas, whom cousins fondly call Shri, successfully summited Everest on the morning of 19 May.
Unfortunately, he appeared to have fallen ill on his way down. His cousins claim that he seemed to have suffered frostbite and altitude sickness.
BNN reported that Mr Shri thus decided to descend with his Sherpa guide, and “was last in contact with the base camp officials from 8,500 metres (27,887 feet)”.
However, he may have been separated somewhere along the way and “disappeared from sight”. His guide made it to Camp IV at around 8pm that night without him.
Source: Climb High Himalaya, for illustration purposes only
The change.org petition supposes that Mr Shri may have fallen at around 8,000 metres, “likely onto the Tibetan side of the mountain”. No other sources are able to confirm this at the time of writing.
A search and rescue operation promptly commenced to locate Mr Shri, led by a team of Sherpas.
While his cousins trust their abilities, they also hope to expedite the process, with support from various governments.
They have managed to get through to some but wish for public support to activate urgent, expert assistance.
Since the terrains can be dangerous, they’re hoping for authorities to engage a special rescue team.
For now, members of the public can contribute by signing the petition here.
The Straits Times (ST) managed to interview 39-year-old Mr Shri’s wife, who said she last heard from him on Friday (19 May).
Ms Sushma Soma shared that her husband was due to reach Singapore on 4 June. He had left for Mount Everest on 1 April.
After reaching the summit on Friday (19 May), Mr Shri allegedly texted his wife that night to inform her that he might not make it back down.
He also told her that he was experiencing High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), which is a “severe and potentially fatal condition”, according to the National Library of Medicine.
That was apparently the last that Ms Soma heard from her husband.
Considering the dire situation, we sincerely hope that Mr Shri will be found safe soon.
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Featured image adapted from @thirdrockadventures on Unsplash and Shrinivas Sainis on Facebook.
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