Retired American doctor dies during Everest climb

Everest's Camp 2 seen during the 2021 climbing season

An American doctor has died during an attempt to scale Mount Everest, according to the US embassy in Nepal.

Jonathan Sugarman, 69, of Seattle, was climbing with a Washington-state guiding service when he died on Monday.

The guiding company said his death "was not the result of a climbing accident or route condition" on the mountain.

He is the fourth person to die on Everest during this spring climbing season. In April, three Sherpa porters died after falling into a crevasse.

Mr Sugarman was a retired family medicine specialist and former University of Washington professor, according to US media.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends," the embassy said.

"The Embassy is in contact with Dr Sugarman's family and with local authorities. Out of respect for the family's privacy, we cannot comment further."

No cause of death was given.

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Washington-based International Mountain Guides (IMG) said on its blog on Monday that one member of its climbing party had died.

"The rest of the IMG climbing team is all doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances," owner Eric Simonson said.

The doctor had climbed Everest in 2022, and successfully completed a trip to Camp 3.

He had previously struggled with high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) - a dangerous condition caused by rapid elevation change, Mr Sugarman had said in an interview with mountaineering website Uphill Athlete.

The doctor told the website that he experienced HAPE in 2016 during another summit attempt in the Himalayan mountains and was forced to turn back.

Pasang Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to climb Everest, told CNN that Sugarman "died at Camp 2 after he began to feel unwell".

Everest is the highest point on earth at 29,032ft (8,849m).

The last American who died there, Connecticut man Puwei Liu, died from exhaustion in 2021 after reaching the mountain's highest camp.

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