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Australian academic Maria Strydom and Dutch mountaineer die on Mount Everest
By Eryk Baghaw
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An Australian academic has died and another Australian has been injured while descending from the summit of Mount Everest.
Monash University lecturer Maria Strydom succumbed to altitude sickness and reportedly suffered a stroke and snow blindness while making her descent on Saturday.
The banking and finance expert had been travelling in Nepal for more than a month with her husband and 10 other climbers.
On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs would not confirm if Dr Strydom's husband was the second Australian being assisted.
Dr Maria Strydom died as she climbed down Mount Everest. Credit: Monash University
"The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian woman reported to have died on Mt Everest in Nepal. DFAT is also providing consular assistance to an injured Australian man accompanying the woman," a spokeswoman said.
A second mountaineer, Dutch man Eric Arnold, also died during the descent, telling teammates "my body has no energy left", before dying in his sleep, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
The two fatalities are the first deaths on the world's highest peak since an avalanche killed 22 climbers last year.
The tragedies came the same day Queensland teen Alyssa Azar succeeded in her bid to become the youngest Australian in history to climb Mount Everest.
Dr Maria Strydom on a recent climb of Denali in Alaska, the highest peak in North AmericaCredit: Monash University
Dr Strydom, 34, was on her way down from Camp Four to Camp Three when she fell ill and died on Saturday, Seven Summit Treks board director Pasang Phurba Sherpa said.
"After reaching the summit [on Saturday] she said she was feeling very weak and suffering from a loss of energy ... signs of altitude sickness," Pasang said.
Dr Maria Strydom (right).Credit: Monash University
Nepalese Department of Tourism officer Shiva Bahadur Sapkota added that Dr Strydom died after after suffering from snow blindness and a stroke.
A vegan, Dr Strydom was motivated to tackle Everest by challenging the diet's stereotypes.
Dutch mountaineer Eric Arnold died on Mount Everest.Credit: Twitter: @EricArnold8850
"It seems that people have this warped idea of vegans being malnourished and weak," Dr Strydom said in March. "By climbing the seven summits we want to prove that vegans can do anything and more."
Originally from Africa, the experienced climber had previously supported a ban on novice climbers tackling Mount Everest. In the past eight years Dr Strydom had scaled Denali in Alaska, Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, and Kilimanjaro in Africa.
"We've all heard stories of frostbite and having to turn around from excessive waiting times due to inexperienced people blocking routes," she said in March. "This can lead to life-threatening situations and death where Sherpas and other climbers have to risk their lives to attempt rescues."
Mr Arnold also suffered a bout of altitude sickness and died at Camp Four on Friday, according to Seven Summit Treks.
Mr Arnold had enough bottled oxygen with him as well as climbing partners, but he complained of getting weak and died before he was able to reach a lower altitude, Pasang said.
He said no more details were available because of poor communication with the crew on the mountain, and that it would take days and several people to bring the bodies down.
Mr Arnold was from the Dutch city of Rotterdam. According to his Twitter account his final climb was his fifth attempt at reaching the Everest summit.
Dr Strydom's death was the third climbing related fatality in the Himalayas this week. On Thursday, a 25-year-old Nepali Sherpa plunged more than two kilometres to his death. The Sherpa, who has not been identified, slipped while he was fixing ropes on nearby Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak.
The deaths are likely to hit Nepal's mountaineering community, which is still recovering from the past two disaster-stricken climbing seasons. The country's devastating earthquake last year caused an avalanche that killed 22 people at Base Camp.
In 2014, an avalanche above Base Camp killed 16 Sherpa guides.
With DAP, AP