Sherpa miraculously rescued after surviving nearly a week missing on Mount Everest

A Nepali Sherpa guide who went missing on Mount Everest has been rescued alive after surviving nearly a week on the world’s tallest mountain without food or supplemental oxygen, officials said Thursday.

Dawa Sherpa, 52, disappeared between Camp III and Camp IV while descending Everest with a Polish climber after an unsuccessful summit attempt on the 8,849-meter peak.

He was last seen on May 29, according to climbing officials. While his client managed to return safely to base camp, it remained unclear how the pair became separated during the dangerous descent.

The dramatic rescue unfolded days later, when a clean-up team from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee spotted Dawa Sherpa near the Khumbu Icefall above Everest Base Camp.

“He recognized me … is good and speaks,” his daughter, Mhendo Lhamo Sherpa, told reporters after he was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment. Family members said he was suffering from frostbite and other complications but was recovering.

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Video footage showed paramedics rushing Dawa from a helicopter to a hospital trolley while still dressed in his climbing gear.

The Nepal Mount Everest hiking company described the rescue as “nothing short of a miracle,” noting that Dawa survived alone for nearly a week in one of the harshest environments on Earth after seasonal fixed ladders had already been removed from the mountain.

The Khumbu Icefall, where he was found, is considered one of Everest’s most treacherous sections because of shifting glaciers, deep crevasses, and unstable ice towers.

This year’s Everest climbing season saw a record surge in mountaineers, with Nepal issuing 494 climbing permits and more than 1,000 climbers and guides reaching the summit.

The spring climbing season officially ended last month, though several climbers and guides reportedly died during expeditions on Everest this year.