A helicopter crew searching for the missing climber on Thursday spotted Wui Kin Chin waving his hands at them, and rescuers brought him down to a lower camp
Malaysian climber Chin Wui Kin being taken to a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Friday. Pic/AFP
A Malaysian mountain climber was being treated in a hospital in Nepal's capital Friday after being stranded nearly two days alone near the summit of Annapurna. A helicopter crew searching for the missing climber on Thursday spotted Wui Kin Chin waving his hands at them, and rescuers brought him down to a lower camp.
At the time of his rescue, Chin had been without an oxygen bottle, food and water for over 40 hours, said Mingma Sherpa, the head of Seven Summit Treks, which arranged his expedition. Chin was flown to Kathmandu, on Friday and taken to a hospital, where his wife joined him.
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Chin is an anaesthesiologist and accomplished climber, and Sherpa credited his medical knowledge and familiarity with mountains for keeping him alive. "It's a big thing to stay alive in that altitude without food, water, and oxygen," Sherpa said. He described Chin on Thursday as fine but not in condition to walk.
Chin was a part of a 13-member expedition led by a French climber and was separated from the others during the descent. The 8,091-meter (26,545-foot) Mount Annapurna is the ninth tallest mountain in Nepal and the 10th tallest in the world. It's considered an especially treacherous mountain due to its difficult terrain and weather conditions.
The climber, who was airlifted from the base camp, is undergoing treatment in ICU of Mediciti hospital in Kathmandu.
"Team Successful operated rescue of Mr Wui Kin Chin, brought down to BC at 10 am and now heli flew to Kathmandu, Medicity Hospital !!," Seven Summit Treks, the travel company with which Chin went on the expedition, wrote on a Facebook post early on Friday morning.
"Simrik Air succeeded to locate the stranded Malaysian climber Dr. Chin Wui Kin from Mt. Annapurna area I and is glad to have saved his life by airlifting him through long line rescue technique today to Mediciti Hospital Kathmandu for further treatment. Simrik's Bell helicopter having a call sign 9N-ALT with Pilot-in-command Capt. Siddartha J. Gurung was the first one to find the missing climber," the company said.
On the same day, the hospital informed that Chin had suffered severe frostbite and is experiencing respiratory problems.
Chin, an alumnus of the University of Melbourne, is said to have survived miraculously despite the thin air and running sort of food for about 40 hours.
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