For six days, he was given up for dead. Then, against all odds, a Nepali Sherpa guide was spotted crawling through the Khumbu icefall — frostbitten but alive.
A Nepali Sherpa guide, Hillary Dawa, has been found alive in the Khumbu icefall on Mount Everest after being missing for six days following a successful summit.
Rescuers conducted a helicopter search near Everest Camp at an altitude of nearly 5,400 metres before finally locating Dawa in the treacherous icefall.
A representative from 8K Expeditions described the discovery of the Sherpa — who was “crawling down the icefall with frostbite” — as a “remarkable case.”
After his rescue, Dawa was initially taken to base camp and later hospitalised in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.
Rescue teams are now warning of the growing dangers of climbing Everest and urging climbers to exercise extreme caution. Between March and May 2026 alone, five mountaineers have already died attempting to scale the world’s highest peak.
