Fox News Flash top headlines for May 22
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A Nepal Sherpa who recently broke a record for most ascents of Mount Everest has climbed the world’s tallest mountain for the second time in less than a week.
Kami Rita, 53, reached the peak of the 29,032-foot mountain for the 28th time on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing Nepal tourism official Bigyan Koirala.
"Kami Rita is on his way down from the summit," added Thaneswar Guragai, the general manager of the Seven Summit Treks company that Rita works for.
Rita had set a new record last week when he reached the summit of Everest for the 27th time on Wednesday, May 17.
NEPAL SHERPA GUIDE SETS RECORD FOR MOST CLIMBS OF MOUNT EVEREST WITH 27
Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide, Kami Rita, 48, poses for a photograph in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 26, 2018. Rita scaled Mount Everest on May 23, 2023, for the 28th time, beating his own record within a week. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
"Very inspirational to see a local climber continue pushing the limits on Mount Everest," American climber Garrett Madison, who was with Rita on five of his ascents, told Reuters at the time.
Seven Summit Treks said in a statement that Rita has "dedicated his life to mountaineering and has become synonymous with the world's highest peak".
Rita first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since then. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of foreign climbers who seek to stand on top of the mountain every year.
Rita’s father was among the first Sherpa guides, and in addition to his Everest climbs, Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.
BRITISH CLIMBER SCALES EVEREST FOR 17TH TIME, BREAKING RECORD FOR MOST ASCENTS BY NON-SHERPA GUIDE
Tents are seen set up at Everest Base Camp in 2019. (Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The climb last week happened as the season’s first wave of adventurers were reaching the top of Everest before weather conditions turn more treacherous starting in June.
This spring, Nepalese officials have issued nearly 470 permits to climb Everest, the AP reported.
Two more deaths also were reported on the mountain over the weekend, bringing this year’s death toll up to 11, according to Reuters.
One of those who died was a fellow Nepal Sherpa working to clean the mountain, the news agency says.
The other was identified as 40-year-old Australian engineer Jason Kennison, who reportedly passed away while descending from the summit.
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Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide, Kami Rita, waves as he arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2018. Rita scaled Mount Everest for the 27th time Wednesday. (AP/Niranjan Shrestha)
"He was just on top of the world, literally, on top of the world and that's what he wanted to achieve and he achieved that," his mother was quoted by Reuters as saying at a press conference in his Australian hometown of Mallala, near Adelaide.
"On the descent is when he suddenly fell ill and that's when he passed away," added his brother Adrian.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.