Everest climber sparks fury after Sherpa saves him at 27,000ft but he thanks sponsors and partners instead
6 June 2023, 14:05 | Updated: 6 June 2023, 14:12
A climber whose life was saved after he got stuck in Mount Everest's "death zone" has sparked fury after he thanked his partners and sponsors instead of the Sherpa who got him back down.
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Malaysian mountaineer Ravichandran Tharumalingam was rescued by Gelje Sherpa after he found him shivering and without any bottled oxygen or guides at 27,000ft.
The death zone has limited oxygen and temperatures can drop to below -30C.
Other climbing teams had passed Ravichandran on the 29,032ft peak but Gelje convinced his Chinese client to abandon their own climb and save him.
He wrapped Ravichandran in a sleeping mat and brought him on his back down to Camp Four, a 1,900ft descent that took six hours at high altitude.
Gelje recorded the rescue on his Instagram channel, which showed Ravichandran wrapped in the mat.
But despite Gelje's heroics, Ravichandran thanked his sponsors and rescue insurance when he returned to Malaysia in June after his recovery.
"I am alive today, because I had the best and dedicated Partners — the 14th Peaks Expedition Co and Global Rescue Ins," he said on Instagram.
In other posts on the account, he promoted a T-shirt with the message "Leave Your Fear Behind".
However, he later credited Gelje and other Sherpas as Instagram users criticised him for not mentioning him sooner.
Gelje initially shared an Instagram story that said Ravichandran was "ungrateful" and "even blocked" the Sherpa.
On one of the several more recent posts Ravichandran posted thanking Gelje and the Sherpas. The Malaysian said: "Sherpas are people who are so committed and dedicated to their clients especially coming from 14 Peaks Expedition Co. and The Seven Summit Expedition Co.
"They never leave you behind. I experienced it this year."
He named Gelje in the post, though he included him with 14 Peaks, reportedly one of Ravichandran's partners, which Gelje does not work for, and 14 Peaks only became involved after Gelje had carried him to Camp Four.
Nonetheless, Gelje commented: "Thank you. Hope you are recovering well."
But other users were furious.
One said he had an "ego bigger than Everest" while another said he was "only posting this after receiving a backlash".
"You put Gelje's name in brackets like you're downplaying the fact that he jeopardised his own well-being to rescue you. Your post just adds insult to injury, disgraceful," a user said.
