Mountaineer Huserka Missing after Falling into Crevasse in Himalayas

Langtang, November 2 (TASR) - Slovak mountaineer Ondrej Huserka is missing after falling into a crevasse in the Himalayas following his successful ascent of Nepal's seven-thousander Langtang Lirung, TASR learnt from the Slovak Mountaineering Union 'James' on Saturday. "We must, unfortunately, report the latest, very unfavourable news from under Langtang Lirung. On his return, Ondrej had an accident while abseiling and the consequence was that he fell into a crevasse. It was not in Marek Holecek's power to pull him out of the crevasse, moreover, Ondrej was in poor condition," the mountaineering union posted on a social network. Thirty-four-year-old Huserka and Czech top mountaineer Marek Holecek (49) climbed the extremely challenging 2,200-meter-high east face of the 7,227-meter-high Langtang Lirung for the first time. They reached the summit on Wednesday (October 30). Rescue operations, including helicopter rescues, haven't yet been successful, with another attempt reportedly due to take place on Sunday night (November 3) CET. "We believe that there's still a small hope that the rescue team, composed also of volunteers on the spot, will reach him and that a small big miracle will happen," wrote the Slovak Mountaineering Union. The seven-thousander in the Langtang National Park, around 50 kilometres north of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, was first climbed in autumn 1978 by Japanese Seishi Wada and Nepalese Pemba Tshering Sherpa. Before Holecek and Huserka, 54 people had reached the summit. am