A Nepal government expedition to
Mount Everest has removed 11 tonnes
of rubbish and four dead bodies from
the world's highest mountain, officials
said on Wednesday.
Climbers returning from the 8,850-
metre-high mountain say its slopes are
littered with human excrement, used
oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes,
broken ladders, cans and plastic
wrappers left behind by climbers - an
embarrassment for a country that
earns valuable revenue from Everest
expeditions.
Some of the rubbish was flown to
Kathmandu and handed over to
recyclers in a ceremony on
Wednesday, officially concluding the
cleaning campaign. Officials called it a
successful mission but said more
rubbish still needs to be collected.
Some is covered by snow and only is
exposed when temperatures rise.
Officials have not been able to
estimate exactly how much rubbish is
on the mountain. Most was at Camps 2
and 3, at which climbers can rest
along the way between the base camp
and the summit.
A clean-up team of 20 Sherpa climbers
collected five tonnes of litter in April
and May from different camps sites
above the base camp and another six
tonnes from the areas below, said
Dandu Raj Ghimire, director general of
the Department of Tourism.
"Unfortunately, some garbage collected
in bags at the South Col could not be
brought down due to bad weather,"
Ghimire said in a statement on
Wednesday.
The four bodies were exposed by
melting snow and were carried to base
camp and then flown to a hospital in
Kathmandu for identification, Ghimire
said.
Climbers struggling to make it down
the mountain alive sometimes are
unable to carry out the bodies of
teammates who have died.