May 22 (UPI) -- Two more people died attempting to ascend Nepal's Mount Everest, officials and expedition leaders said, bringing the weekend death toll to four.
The Nepalese tourist department said Sunday that Slovakian climber Vladimir Strba, 48, died at an encampment at an altitude of about 26,250 feet. The body of Ravi Kumar, 26, from India, was found Monday after he climbed to the summit and then fell ill and was unable to descend to the nearest camp, The New York Times reported.
Earlier in the weekend, officials announced the death of Dr. Roland Yearwood, 50, an American physician who died Sunday near the summit of the 29,029-foot mountain on the Nepal-China border. Dinesh Bhattarari of the Nepalese tourist department did not reveal Yearwood's cause of death. Yearwood died at an elevation of about 27,600 feet, Bhattarari said.
Earlier, Nepal-based Adventure Thamserku Treks and Expeditions announced the death of Australian climber Francesco Marchetti, 54; the company said Marchetti developed altitude sickness at about 28,000 feet and was attempting to descend the mountain.
Each of the climbers was in a separate expedition to the top of the mountain.
Yearwood attempted to climb the mountain in 2015, when an earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 climbers. He was brought down safely, but the earthquake is responsible for the loss of the so-called "Hillary Step," a rocky, 39-foot outcrop of Mount Everest that climbers regard as the last great challenge before reaching the peak.
