Baljeet Kaur, a leading Indian woman climber, has been found alive after she went missing while descending from the summit point of Mt Annapurna. The 27-year-old mountaineer had reportedly gone missing on Monday near Camp IV.
Her expedition team initiated an aerial search mission on Tuesday morning after receiving a radio signal from Kaur asking for immediate help. The search team located her with the help of her GPS location, which indicated an altitude of 7,375m (24,193ft).
Kaur had climbed Mt Annapurna with two Sherpa guides at around 5:15 pm on Monday. The difficult and dangerous ascent of Annapurna, the tenth-highest mountain in the world, is well-known among mountaineers.
Kaur, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, had previously scaled Mt Lhotse in May last year, becoming the first Indian climber to have climbed four 8000-meter peaks in a single season.
After being found, Kaur was immediately airlifted by a helicopter and is said to be in stable condition. Her remarkable survival is being hailed as a testament to her physical and mental strength, as well as the quick response of the search and rescue team.
