Altitude sickness blamed as British woman dies after Everest trek

Tests are being carried out on the body of a British woman thought to have died from altitude sickness while trekking in Nepal’s Everest region.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Oct 2014, 18:48 BST

The 49-year-old reportedly fell ill as she returned from a trip to Everest base camp at 17,700ft (5,364m) with her daughter.

The body of the woman, who has not been named, was found in a hotel room in Khumjung and was later airlifted to a hospital in 
the capital, Kathmandu, police said. A spokesman for the local police added: “Her body is in the hospital and in the process of a post- mortem.

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“We cannot say the cause of death yet but she was found in a hotel room.

“The doctors will say what happened. Her daughter is at the hospital.”

Local police official Purushottam Silwal told the AFP news agency: “She possibly died of altitude sickness. Her body was airlifted to Kathmandu for a post-mortem.”

The Foreign Office said: “We are aware of the death of a British national in Nepal on October 6 2014.

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“We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”

Altitude sickness can happen when people climb to high altitudes too quickly, with the decrease in atmospheric pressure making breathing difficult.