DHENKANAL: Odisha’s first woman mountaineer Kalpana Das died while descending from Mt Everest after scaling it the second time on Thursday. The news of her death was confirmed by her brother Pradeep Kumar Dash and family members.
Kalpana had scaled the Everest from Nepal along with Kanchimaya Tamang of the Himalayan Kingdom and Liamu Mank of China at around 12.55 pm. Das, who fell ill during the descending, died near the balcony area. The three-member team was lead by the veteran mountaineer Pemba Dheeraje Sherpa.
The 50-year-old mountaineer had left for Nepal on April 23 from Bhubaneswar. After reaching the peak, she had trouble walking because of which she was coming down with the help of Sherpas. When they reached the balcony area, her breathing stopped. This was communicated to her family members and relatives on Whatsapp.
Her brother Pradeep Kumar Dash was in touch with her and their official team since her departure. For the last three days he had no contact with her. “Official staff Dinesh Tamanga sought her insurance documents on Thursday from me,” said Pradeep.
Dinesh had informed him about the condition if her leg and that she was climbing slowly. Now, official team from Nepal said her body is hanging from balcony area. Pradeep said, they received information at 7.15 pm and will leave for the place on Friday.
Kalpana had climbed different peaks in India, Nepal, Europe, South America and Australia. Being a team leader of the Indian expedition, Das had scaled Mt Everest from Nepal in 2008.
Before the mission, she had said that the purpose of this expedition is to encourage women to participate in the adventure sport and spread the message of world peace, fraternity and women empowerment.
Sports Youth Services Secretary Vishal Dev stated, “We condole the untimely demise of Odisha’s first woman Mt. Everest climber while descending from its highest peak. She was and will always be an inspiration to many budding climbers in the State.”
Before leaving Odisha, Kalpana had met Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal who greeted her. Thousands of people thronged her home near Shiv Mandap at Kumbhar Sahi in town.