Spanish climber dies descending Nepal mountain

KATHMANDU, Jan 21 (Reuters) A Spanish mountaineer fell to his death while descending from the summit of a Nepalese Himalayan mountain on Jan. 19, the climbing team's Kathmandu agent said today.

Guillermo Mateo Yeste, 47, a climbing instructor from Madrid, had reached the 6,812 metre high summit of Everest's neighbour, Mount Ama Dablam, and then fell 35 minutes after leaving the top, the agent, Ganesh Neupane, told Reuters.

Mateo fell about 300 metres and his teammates could see his body, Neupane said, adding efforts were on to retrieve it.

Every year, thousands of foreign climbers visit Nepal, home to eight of the world's highest peaks.

REUTERS DKA PM1657