American doctor dies climbing Mount Everest

May 3 (UPI) -- A retired American doctor has died scaling Mount Everest, according to the U.S. Embassy in Nepal.

Jonathan Sugarman, a Seattle-based doctor and former University of Washington professor, died Monday at Camp 2, which sits just under 21,000 feet in elevation.

The U.S. Embassy in Nepal issued a statement confirming "Dr. Jonathan Sugarman passed away while climbing Mt. Everest."

"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," the statement said.

"Jonathan Sugarman died at Camp 2 after he began to feel unwell," expedition organizer Pasang Sherpa told CNN on Tuesday. His exact cause of death has not been released.

"His body remains at Camp 2 with the rest of the climbing team," Sherpa added.

Sugarman, 69, was climbing with International Mountain Guides based out of Washington state.

"It is with deep sorrow that IMG reports the death of one of our Everest 2023 team members at Camp 2," Eric Simonson, chief executive officer and owner of IMG, said in a statement.

"We can confirm that this event was not the result of a climbing accident or route condition that would be of potential impact or safety concern to any other teams on the mountain," he said. "The rest of the IMG climbing team is all doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances."

Sugarman is the fourth person to die on Everest during this year's spring climbing season. Last month, three Sherpa porters died after falling into a crevasse.