Indian mountaineer Baljeet Kaur rescued from Mt. Annapurna

Baljeet Kaur, a 27-year-old leading Indian woman mountaineer, who went missing near Camp IV of Mt Annapurna while descending from the summit point has been found alive, an official of the expedition organiser said on Tuesday.

According to reports, an aerial search team located Kaur, who scaled the world's tenth-highest peak without using supplemental oxygen yesterday.

Pasang Sherpa, chairman of Pioneer Adventure, said that Kaur went missing above Camp IV while descending from the top as she scaled the peak without using supplemental oxygen. ''She has suffered from frostbite and is now being rushed to CIWEC Hospital from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu," he was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times newspaper.

In May last year, Baljeet Kaur, from Himachal Pradesh scaled Mt Lhotse and became the first Indian climber to have climbed four 8000-meter peaks in a single season. Her recent successful ascent of Mt Annapurna further solidifies her reputation as a skilled and accomplished climber.

According to Mingma Sherpa, chairman at Seven Summit Treks, Noel Hanna, the first person from Ireland to reach the summit of K2 during the winter season, breathed his last in Camp IV last night. Efforts are underway to bring their bodies back to base camp, organisers said.

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that 34-year-old Anurag Maloo, a resident of Kishangadh in Rajasthan, went missing while descending from Camp III of Annapurna Mountain in Nepal.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Mingma Sherpa, Seven Summit Treks said that the search operation is on. ''Later, it was found that Maloo fell from 6000m into a crevasse while descending from Camp IV on Monday. 5 climbers have been airlifted to Kathmandu from Mount Annapurna,'' he said.

For the unversed, Mt. Annapurna is the tenth-highest mountain in the world, standing at 8,091 metres above sea level.

It is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent.