Climber From France Dies on Himalayan Peak

It’s been reported that Johnny Saliba, 60, from France, has died while climbing Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain. This is the second death on Makalu this season.

Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director at Snowy Horizon Treks and Expedition, said,  “Johnny complained of illness at 8,350 m while heading for the summit push.” Jangbu Sherpa then began to assist Saliba back to high camp, but Saliba died at around 8,120 metres. Saliba was one of 10 climbers on a French expedition led by Serge Brazin, the team has a website with regular updates and tracking info here.

A recovery effort is now underway to bring Saliba’s body down the mountain. After hearing of Saliba’s death, Spanish climber Gonzalo Fernandez shared on Instagram, “I took some photos of him and told him I would forward them to him once we were back in base camp. Up here, the line between life and death is so thin.”

Last week, Lakpa Tenji Sherpa from Solukhumbu died near camp three on Makalu while descending from the summit.