Kolkata: A West Bengal police wireless operator scaled the Mount Everest, bringing cheers to the mountaineering enthusiasts who were distraught by the news of recent deaths while attempting to reach the world's highest summit.
According to a statement released by the West Bengal Police Directorate, Rudra Prasad Haldar (39) reached the summit last Saturday at around 5.24 AM. Halder had set out on his mission "Mount Everest" on April 7.
He reached the top on May 21 and returned to the base camp two days later, the statement said. Sponsored by the state government, West Bengal Police and Sonarpur Arohi, this was Halder's second attempt at scaling Mt. Everest after last year's devastating earthquake in Nepal forced him to stall his expedition after reaching Lobuche (E) (6091 metres).
Rudra trained at Uttarkashi's Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Three Bengal climbers, including a woman, were reported missing last week after beginning their ascent to Mt. Everest.
Climber Subhash Pal died during an expedition to Mount Everest after falling ill on Sunday while two others, Goutam Ghosh and Paresh Nath, are still untraceable. Nath and Ghosh were near the summit of the 8,848-metre peak on Saturday when they lost contact with the rest of the four-member team, all of whom were Indians. The fourth member, Sunita Hazra, was rescued and taken to hospital.
