Death on Everest: Fellow climber in tears over late Awang Askandar

National solo mountaineer T Ravichandran has expressed his sadness over the loss of fellow climber Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub while attempting to reach the highest peak in the world.

“We have been conquering Mount Everest, but this year, Everest beat us," he said tearfully as he recalled his experience with the Kedah Civil Defence Force director who died during his expedition and on missing hearing-impaired climber Muhammad Hawari Hashim.

Awang (above), 56, was confirmed dead on Friday after falling on his climb to Everest’s summit.

Hawari, 33, was feared lost in the Everest area when descending from Camp 4 after successfully reaching the 8,848m peak on Thursday.

"This year is the second time we met in the mission to conquer Everest. This time I was in front of them and I also faced tough challenges of extreme weather in my descent from the mountain," Ravichandran said.

He told reporters this at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today, upon arrival from the 2023 Himalayan Sports Everest-Lhotse Expedition.

On May 17, Ravichandran managed to reach the top of Everest and waved the Jalur Gemilang along with the sponsor's flag on the mountain before descending on May 18 to capture Mount Lhotse (the fourth highest mountain in the world at a height of 8,516m).

However, he had to be rescued and taken to Kathmandu for treatment due to frostbite on a finger.

For the 58-year-old, the mission with the Himalayan Sports Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2023 was to set a record as the first Malaysian climber to conquer the summit of Lhotse after raising the flag at the peak of Everest within 24 hours.

The success of conquering Everest this time is the fourth for Ravichandran.

Regarding the fate of the two Malaysian climbers, Ravichandran said: "I do not know what happened to Awang and Hawari who also faced a difficult time.”

Hawari was with a group of climbers together with Awang in the Malaysian Everest 2023 mission.

Ravichandran said even though they were on different teams, they often met at Everest Base Camp (EBC) to rest and drink together.

‘Like a family’

"Climbers are usually friendly, not to mention that there were only five Malaysians, so we are very close like a family regardless of race, religion and age.

“On the day heading to the top of Everest, Hawari was with me from Tent 1 to Tent 2.

“He is a great guy, even though he is mute and deaf but every time we meet, we always start with a hug and tap each other's head," Ravichandran shared.

He prayed that Hawari will be found even though the search mission was quite challenging due to the weather.

He said this incident had a deep impact on his mental health, but hoped the younger generation would not be afraid of climbing mountains which are always full of challenges and risks.

"Everest beat us this year… last year we returned with pride but this year is different because of the loss of lives, so far we have recorded 10 people including Awang compared to three people last year. This year's wounds are quite deep mentally," he added.

Every mistake and defeat experienced by Malaysian Everest climbers needs to be reviewed, he said, including weather, technical and training factors to reduce risks in the mission.

"People always think that only funds are important but it is not, because many aspects need to be managed precisely to reduce risk.

“We have to take the initiative seriously and not underestimate the risk when it comes to the mission to conquer Everest," he added.

- Bernama

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