Bhubaneswar: A team of sherpas have already reached the Camp II of the Mount Everest to retrieve the dead body of Odisha mountaineer Kalpana Dash who breathed her last May 23 near the balcony are while descending, an official close to the state government stated Sunday.
“The Government of Odisha has been in continuous touch with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu since the demise of Kalpana Dash. All efforts are underway to bring the mortal remains of the deceased mountaineer within the stipulated time window,” the official said.
“We have been informed that the team of sherpas have reached Camp II around 4 pm today (Sunday). They will commence their rescue operation in the early hours tomorrow (Monday). The sherpas are expected to reach the location where Kalpana’s deceased body was reported to be found and will bring the mortal remains to Camp IV.
“Two members of Kalpana’s family along with a government representative will be reaching Kathmandu Monday for further coordination and completing the formalities for bringing the body to Bhubaneswar,” the official added.
This was Kalpana’s fourth attempt to climb the Mt Everest. She failed in her first two attempts in 2004 and 2006 before successfully scaling in 2008.
The 53-year-old lawyer-turned-mountaineer had left for Nepal April 23 and started for the summit along with local Kanchimaya Tamang and Liyamu Ma of China. They successfully reached the summit and it was during their return, Kalpana felt uneasiness in her breathing and collapsed near the Balcony area.
Meanwhile this is not the only case of casualty this year as 48-year-old Biplab Baidya and 46-year-old Kuntal Kanrar (both from West Bengal) have also lost their lives while climbing Mount Kanchenjunga.
