The Nepali state is complicit in the death of stranded trekkers, both Nepalis and foreigners, a number of whom have died due to delayed rescue operations. The latest person to die, and whose life could possibly have been saved, is the 71-year-old American national Ann Carol Mc Cormac. Suffering from acute diarrhea, she breathed her last at a hospital in Pokhara on May 5. She and her husband had to wait for nearly six hours for a rescue helicopter to arrive.  

 

The helicopter, which would have taken just around 40 minutes to go from Pokhara to Chhusang of Mustang, from where Mc Cormac needed to be rescued, had to wait for hours for an official permit to fly to the ‘restricted zone’. It was a long process. The guide accompanying the American couple first phoned his trekking agency requesting a rescue. The agency contacted the helicopter service provider. The helicopter service provider then had to contact the local CDO. The CDO then faxed a permit to the Home Ministry, which then took another hour to issue to final flying permit.

 

Asked if Mc Cormac would have survived had the helicopter arrived on time, says Dawa Gurung, the accompanying guide, says she would probably have, as “she was coherent and could converse normally” even on the morning of May 5.

 

Just this year a Japanese national and a Nepali pregnant woman also died as the rescue helicopters could not fly in the ‘restricted areas’ without official and tardy permits.

 

Full story HERE...