85-year-old mountaineer dies trying to conquer Mt Everest

  • 07/05/2017
Mountaineer Min Bajadur Sherchan (Reuters)
Min Bajadur Sherchan (Reuters)

An 85-year-old Nepali man trying to reclaim his record as the oldest person to climb Mt Everest has died.

In 2008, Min Bajadur Sherchan set the record as a 76-year-old, but it was broken by Japan's Yuichiro Miura in 2013, aged 80.

Mr Sherchan died at base camp on Saturday evening after a suspected heart attack, according to Nepali officials.

His attempt to reclaim his record has been many years in the making. In 2013, then aged 81, Mr Sherchan had to abandon one attempt due to bad weather conditions.

In 2015, he again had to strike off his goal after a devastating earthquake struck the country.

In March, Mr Sherchan said he wanted to break the record to encourage people to "dream big".

"This will instil a sense of pride among old people like me," he told German news agency DPA.

Mr Sherchan is survived by his 74-year-old wife, five daughters, two sons and 17 grandchildren.

Newshub.