Disabled climber disappears after conquering Mount Everest

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that deaf climber Muhammad Hawari Hisham disappeared after conquering Mount Everest on May 18.

It said authorities in Nepal have not been able to locate him since he descended from the peak.

“Embassy representatives are in close contact with local authorities who are actively searching for the victim around the area.

“Any developments in the search mission will be notified from time to time,” the ministry said in a statement today.

According to Xinhua, Pioneer Adventure executive director Nivesh Karki said that the 33-year-old has been missing since Friday.

Pioneer Adventure is the company that organised Hawari’s expedition - he is one of four Malaysian climbers in the team but was the only one who succeeded in ascending the world’s highest peak.

Nivesh said Hawari went missing during a rescue operation for another Malaysian climber who became ill.

In a separate expedition, veteran mountaineer T Ravichandran also reached the summit.

Kedah CDF director’s remains to return home

The Foreign Ministry also expressed its condolences to the family of Kedah Malaysian Civil Defence Force (CDF) director Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub who passed away on Friday while on the Malaysian Everest Mission 2023.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Duties) Armizan Mohd Ali said they will help bring home his remains.

This is to fulfil his family’s wish to bury him in his hometown in Benoni located in Papar, Sabah.

"The most important thing right now is to work closely with the security forces in Nepal so that they can help us bring the body down to the base camp before we can transport the remains back to Malaysia,” he said, adding it would take about three days to take the body down to the base camp.

"Our embassy in Nepal is cooperating with the responsible teams there to help facilitate the process," he told reporters after attending an Aidilfitri celebration in Papar today.

Armizan also expressed his condolences to Awang’s family, adding that his passing has affected all CDF personnel.

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