According to foreign media reports, as of October 2015, the number of people who have died on Mount Everest (Qomolangma): 6 died en route; 36 in rest areas; 120 during preparation; 11 during retreat; 90 on the descent; and 20 while attempting to reach the summit. A report by the BBC pointed out that climbers aiming to conquer Mount Everest must face a terrifying fact: if something goes wrong, their bodies often remain on the mountain for a long time.
The report states that there are currently more than 200 deceased bodies that have remained on Mount Everest permanently, because once a climber unfortunately dies, it is often very difficult to recover the body. Moreover, the summit area is so littered with corpses that in some cases, climbers even have to step over them. The report also notes that within just four days, three more climbers lost their lives, as Mount Everest has been climbed so many times that people can easily forget the deadly dangers involved.
Although many climbers die in blizzards or fall into valleys, for others, the extreme altitude alone is overwhelming. In the “death zone” near the summit of Mount Everest, climbers’ physical functions can become paralyzed, and their mental faculties can slow down, leading to extreme drowsiness and poor decision-making. Tragically, there are always those who lose their lives while making pilgrimages to the “roof of the world.”
