Climber's family tries to bring body down - Everest death: Rs 26L to get back remains

TT, April 18: Family members of Gautam Ghosh, who died on Everest last year, has signed a contract of Rs 26 lakh with an agency in Darjeeling to bring down his body.

Climbers had spotted the body last year lying near the "Triangular Face" just beyond South Col.

Ghosh, an assistant sub-inspector of Calcutta police, was 48 when he died.

Paresh Nath, another climber who was with Ghosh, died during the expedition and his body, too, is on the mountain.

Many from the mountaineering fraternity in Bengal said Nath's family hadn't been able to raise funds needed to bring down his body.

Both Ghosh and Nath had taken the Nepal side to Everest.

Debraj Dutta, who scaled the peak last year, said Ghosh's body was at a height of approximately 8,200m and Nath's body at South Col (7,900m).

"We have signed a contract with Friends of the Himalayas in Darjeeling," Ghosh's brother Debasish, who runs a roadside fast food stall near the family's home in Barrackpore, said.

Phurba Sherpa, who would head the expedition to bring down the body, has said he would charge only for actuals if the body can't be brought back, Debasish said. He will have to hire other Sherpas for the job.

"Our mother and Gautam's wife have sold their gold ornaments... we are about to sell a plot of land that Gautam had bought to raise the money," he said.

Mountaineers from Bengal headed for Everest and Lhotse this season have offered help to bring down the two bodies.

Kuntal Kanrar and Md Sahabuddin are attempting to scale Mount Everest, while Everester Debashis Biswas would attempt to climb Lhotse, which has a common route with Everest till Camp 3 on the Nepal side.

Biswas said at a press meet in the city today that he would try to find out from Sherpas - some of them are involved in opening this year's routes - after reaching the base camp if they had spotted the bodies of Nath and Ghosh. If they spot the bodies, he would get in touch with the Bengal government and try to initiate a rescue operation to bring them down, Biswas said.