Sherpa rescued after going missing on Everest with no food, oxygen

A Nepali Sherpa guide has been ​rescued from Everest after surviving about a week on the slopes ‌of the world's highest mountain without food or oxygen in a rare case of survival in such conditions, a hiking official said on Thursday.

Dawa Sherpa, 52, was returning ​with a Polish climber after failing to reach the 8,849 m (29,032 ​ft) summit, when he went missing between Camp III and Camp ⁠IV.

He was last seen on May 29. His client returned to base ​camp, but it was not clear how they got separated.

They were among the ​last climbers on Everest this season, which ended last month.

Lama Kazi Sherpa, of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, said his team located Dawa above base camp near the Khumbu ​Icefall and brought him down to safety. His team was cleaning up ​after the season ended.

Dawa, still in a climbing jacket, was rushed from the helipad to ‌hospital ⁠on a trolley.

Dawa’s family said he was doing well and undergoing treatment for frostbite and other complications.

“He recognised me … is good and speaks,” said Mhendo Lhamo Sherpa, the guide’s daughter. “We are happy.”

"Dawa survived alone for nearly a ​week without food, water, ​or supplemental oxygen ⁠navigating the treacherous Khumbu Icefall (even after the fixed ladders were removed for the season)," the Nepal Mount Everest hiking ​company said in a social media post. "This is nothing ​short of ⁠a miracle."

A record number of more than 1,000 climbers and their guides scaled Everest this season, with the government issuing 494 permits.

Five climbers and guides died ⁠on ​Everest this season, officials said.

Many climbers were stranded at ​base camp after a towering block of glacial ice delayed the opening of the route to ​the world's tallest peak in April.

-Reuters