Mountaineer rescued from Qomolangma

While hiking Qomolangma, the world's tallest mountain, mountaineer Wang Tianhan wrote on his micro blog that he was "kidnapped" on Tuesday by a group of people who turned out to be rescuers.

Wang, a Beijing-based mountaineer, was hiking to an altitude of 7,800 meters on Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest, when he was "kidnapped by the students of Nima Tsering", principal of the Tibet Mountaineering School.

However, according to a statement released by the Himalaya Expedition company, where Tsering's students were employed, Wang had been climbing to the second camp (7,790 meters) of Qomolangma without approval from the authorities, a local guide or oxygen equipment.

The rescuers from the company "helped him go down the mountain at the request of the liaison at the Qomolangma Base Camp from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association", the statement said.

Tsering Samdrup, manager of the Himalaya Expedition company, said on his micro blog that the company decided to force Wang to leave because he lacked proper equipment, was in poor health and would not cooperate with the rescue effort. As of Thursday, Wang had been escorted to Qomolangma Base Camp (5,200 meters), Samdrup said.

According to General Administration of Sport regulations, climbers planning mountaineering activities with altitudes of more than 7,000 meters must apply for State approval three months before the hike.

Zhang Mingxing, director of the mountaineering department of the sports bureau of Tibet, said the liaison at the Qomolangma Base Camp from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association had authority to order such an action as the administrator of the industry, Beijing News reported.

Zhang told the newspaper that Wang said he only wanted to take some photos on the mountain, and he was authorized to reach the 6,500-meter base, with a time restraint.

"It is a situation we never met before," Nima Tsering, also captain of the mountaineering team of Tibet, said in a phone interview. "It is against the regulations on mountaineering, and actions must be taken for the sake of his personal safety."

As of Thursday, Wang Tianhan's cellphone was out of service, and he could not be reached for comment.

Sun Yong, a friend of Wang, said Wang set off from Beijing on April 21 on his fourth trip to Qomolangma.

Wang made it to the peak of Qomolangma in 2002 and was given a certificate by the mountaineering association of Tibet, People's Daily reported in 2002.

Contact the writers at xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn and daqiong@chinadaily.com.cn