More than a dozen climbers have been rescued from the 8 848m mountain in the last three days after running into difficulties on the world’s highest peak, helicopter rescue operators told AFP.
The weekend fatalities appear related to altitude sickness and bring the death toll to five during a season marked by unpredictable weather, strong winds and unusually cold temperatures.
The weather calmed over the weekend, opening a narrow window for climbers to make a bid for the top.
Despite the large numbers crowding towards the peak, there have been no reports of long queues.
More than a hundred climbers are expected to try to summit from Nepal’s south side on Monday before the weather changes in the next few days and brings strong winds, according to forecasts.
“Today there might be as many as 150 climbers reaching the top from the Nepal side, but it isn’t a record number,” Ang Tsering Sherpa, head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told AFP.
