Three European mountaineers say that a mob of 100 Sherpa guides kicked and punched them on Mount Everest in the highest altitude brawl ever reported. In a statement released Monday, Nepalese officials promised to ensure the safety of climbers.
Nepalese Police, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Sherpa Association are still investigating the allegations, Sky News reports.
The experienced European climbers include Swiss national Ueli Steck, Italian Simone Moro and Briton Jonathan Griffith. Steck has since descended the mountain and is awaiting a flight back to Kathmandu. The remaining two may still attempt the 29,029ft climb.
The tension began on Sunday at 25,000 ft. when a team of high-altitude Sherpas asked the three-man team not to touch the ropes they fixed for their client.
According to Griffith, one of the Sherpas began shouting and banging the ice with his axe. The Sherpa then roped down toward the climbers.
“As Ueli was soloing and therefore not attached to a rope it was natural that he should hold his hand up to take the impact of the force arriving on him from the lead climber abseiling right onto him,” Griffith explained. The Sherpa then accused Steck of “touching him.” While hitting the ice and screaming, Ueli also accused the Europeans of kicking ice down on the Sherpas and injuring them.
“By the time we had descended back to Camp Two, some 100 Sherpas had grouped together and attacked us. They became instantly aggressive and not only punched and kicked us but thew many rocks as well,” said Griffith. A group of Westerners reportedly stood between the Europeans and the Sherpas, preventing further escalation of violence from “the out of countrol mob.”
Two of the European climbers suffered minor injuries, and the third received a deep gash on his face.
More than 3,000 people have climbed Everest since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first summited the world’s highest mountain in 1953. Late April marks the beginning of the roughly three-week long mountain climbing season for Mount Everest.
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