Nepal has banned three Indian climbers who allegedly made false claims of summiting Mount Everest. The mountaineers, along with their team leader, have been banned from mountaineering in the country for six years. This development comes after an investigation revealed that the climbers had faked their summit to the highest mountain, in 2016.
Yadav and Seema Rani Goswami were the mountaineers involved in the controversy, while Naba Kumar Phukon served as their team leader during the summit.
“There is no competition between donkeys and horses and the world will keep barking like this,” said Yadav, denying all allegations made against him.
“From day one I was telling everyone that Yadav’s summit claim was false and he morphed his picture. I was the leader of the expedition and he was part of the team. He never made the summit and even had frostbite. He along with Seema Rani Goswami had to be rescued by the Sherpas,” said Phukon, according to The Guardian.
An official from Nepal’s tourism and culture ministry told The Indian Express, “In our investigation, we found that they had submitted fake documents [including photographs]. Based on the documents and the conversation with the officials concerned, including sherpas [expert Nepalese mountaineers], we reached this conclusion.”
All three mountaineers have been placed under a six year ban while their Everest summit certification has also been rescinded.
