Japanese Alpinist Kuriki Dies on Mount Everest at 35

May 22, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese alpinist Nobukazu Kuriki has died at the age of 35 during his eighth attempt to conquer Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain at 8,848 meters.

Kuriki's office in Tokyo received on Monday a report of his death from staff supporting him in Nepal.

After climbing to a point around 7,400 meters high on Sunday, Kuriki made radio contact with a camp where his camera crew was staying and said he was descending because he felt sick, according to the office.

After the contact was lost, a Sherpa guide went to search for him. Kuriki was found dead with a low body temperature.

The Japanese embassy in Nepal says a dead body believed to be that of Kuriki has been discovered in the mountain, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

According to Nepalese officials, Kuriki's body was found on Monday morning.

Kuriki started climbing mountains at college and conquered six of the world's so-called seven summits including Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America, in 2004.

His eighth attempt to scale Mount Everest began on April 17 this year.

According to Japanese government officials, Kuriki is the fifth Japanese who died in a Nepalese mountain this year, an unusually large number. Jiji Press