Indian female climber with a pacemaker dies at Mt Everest base camp

A 59-year-old Indian climber, aiming to set a new world record of becoming Asia's first woman on a pacemaker to scale Mt Everest, died on Thursday after falling sick at the base camp of the world's highest peak in Nepal.

Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus was admitted to a hospital in the Lukla town of Solukhumbu district after facing difficulties during the acclimatisation exercises at the Mt Everest base camp, and died on Thursday, Yuvaraj Khatiwada, Director at the Tourism Department of Nepal, said.

Suzanne, fitted with a pacemaker, was asked to abandon the attempt to summit Mt Everest after failing to maintain a normal speed during the acclimatisation exercise on the base camp and showing difficulty climbing, Khatiwada said.

Suzanne adamantly refused the advice, asserting that she had to climb the 8,848.86 metres-high peak as she had already paid the fee for acquiring permission to climb the mountain.

Suzanne, who had climbed up to 5,800 metres, a little above the Mt Everest base camp, was forcibly airlifted on Wednesday evening to Lukla town and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, said Dendi Sherpa, Chairman of Glacier Himalayan Trek, the expedition organiser.