More details on the unfortunate demise of Kenyan mountain climber, Cheruiyot Kirui, has continued to resurface. The climber apparently passed away while attempting to summit Mount Everest, which is the highest peak in the world at 8848 meters.
In a statement issued on Friday by Kirui’s family via one of his close friends and a fellow mountaineer named J. Muhia, Kirui and his guide, Nepali climber Nawang Sherpa, faced their fate only 48metres from the mountain’s summit. The emerging details indicated that Kirui and the Nepalese climber took a fall although the exact details on what transpired has not been established. The pair reportedly lost communication with the base and suddenly went missing in action.
The Kenyan climber was on a mission to complete the mountain climbing without using supplemental oxygen. This was based as the primary cause of his untimely death. The family’s statement, though, has fundamentally altered the story.
On Thursday, Muhia revealed that he was supposed to join his friend in the Mt Everest mission but he had to post pone due to personal reasons. In September 2023, Kirui and his friend had successfully climbed Mt. Manaslu(8163m) without using supplemental oxygen. This served as the primary training for the Everest climbing expedition.
While Kirui’s corpse has been found, his counterpart has not yet been located. As Kenyans grieve the loss of one of their heroes, the search for the Nepalese climber goes on.