'Save me': Last words of one Mt Everest climber revealed as it is feared SEVEN mountaineers may now be dead

Mountaineer who helped with rescue said climbers were hallucinating when they descended from summit

Added that as many as seven climbers may be dead



One man had removed his hat and gloves and was reaching out to rescuers with his arms outstretched



German, Canadian and South Korean die from high altitude brain swelling

Body of fourth climber - a Chinese national - found close to others who died



Many started final ascent hours after it is safe due to storm and high number of climbers on first weekend the mountain was open

The last words of one woman who died at Mt Everest’s highest base camp were ‘save me,’ according to a close friend.

Toronto native Shirya Shah-Klorfine was one of the four who were confirmed dead after a ‘traffic jam’ of mountaineers rushed to scale the 29,000ft peak over the weekend during a brief window of good weather on the world’s tallest mountain.

The news comes as another climber at base camp said as many as seven people could be dead.

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Dead: German doctor Eberhard Schaaf, left, and Nepalese-Canadian Shriya Shah-Klorfine were among those found; according to a friend, Shah's last words were 'Save me'



Treacherous: The area above the last camp at South Col is nicknamed the 'death zone' because of the steep icy slope, dangerous conditions and low oxygen level

The top of the world: Mount Everest, in Nepal's Himalayas, is the tallest peak... and also one of the deadliest

Shah-Klorfine told a Sherpa guide ‘save me’ before she died while attempting to descend from the summit, according to family friend Shellyann Siddoo.

Ms Siddoo told CBC’s Metro Morning : ‘I just learned…that her last words were “save me,” as she was taking her last breath.’

About 150 people - described as a 'traffic jam' by Everest's standards - rushed to scale the 29,000ft peak. However, a fierce windstorm swept the higher altitudes of the mountain on Saturday morning and many climbers were left trapped as they waited for it to pass before beginning their descent.

Colorado native Dr Jon Kedrowski told station Fox 31 in Denver in an exclusive interview today that some climbers have not yet been located, and as many as seven could be dead.

Dr Kedrowski was climbing the mountain over the weekend, but was not able to reach the summit.

Tributes: The page one of the victims created on Facebook so people could keep up-to-date with her trek

Fatal expedition: Mountain climber Shriya Shah had been updating her friends via Facebook of her progress

Progress: In a photo album on her Facebook page titled 'Expedition Pictures', praise for Shriya (pictured) turned to condolence messages

He said he passed climbers returning from the summit who were hallucinating and disoriented, and suffering from bad altitude sickness.

He told Fox 31 : ‘I c ounted four people that had either died that evening or probably got disoriented or basically passed out from their summit attempts on the 19th.’



He described seeing climbers acting 'like zombies' as they returned to the summit of Mount Everest in deadly overcrowding which claimed the lives of four people.



'Once you are above 8,000 metres - or 26,000 feet - the body deteriorates so fast that if you are not with a big group of people that can help you there's really nothing you can do.' -Dr Jon Kedrowski



Many of those stuck were without sufficient oxygen supplies for their extended stay at the top and some who made it down were suffering from severe exhaustion and altitude sickness.



Dr Kedrowski ended up helping with four of the attempted rescues close to Everest's summit, the Huffington Post reported.



The climber, from Avon in Colorado, told Fox 31: 'I counted four people that had either died that evening or probably got disorientated and basically passed out.

'Once you are above 8,000 metres - or 26,000 feet - the body deteriorates so fast that if you are not with a big group of people that can help you there's really nothing you can do.

'[One man] was basically hallucinating, he took his hat off, his gloves were thrown away and then he kind of reached out and looked at me … he kind of reached out to me, kind of in a zombie-like fashion.

'At that point, there’s not a lot you can do for somebody that’s dying and frozen to death.'

Ascent: Climbers who had made their way to the summit over the weekend had waited for several days at a 'staging camp' for the conditions to improve before continuing

Risky: Climbers are advised to not attempt to reach the summit after 11am

German doctor Eberhard Schaaf, 61, Nepalese-Canadian Shriya Shah-Klorfine and South Korean Song Won-bin are all believed to have to have died from a brain swelling triggered by the high altitude as they made their way down from the 8,850-metre summit. It has now been confirmed that a fourth climber - a Chinese national - died on the mountain. Nepali mountaineering official Gyanendra Shresta confirmed that the body of Ha Wenyi was discovered near the spot where the three other climbers perished. His Nepalese Sherpa guide, who had been reported as missing, reached the base camp safely after he became separated from the group without sufficient communications equipment. The deaths this weekend have been described as one of the worst days ever recorded on the world's highest mountain and has prompted concerns about overcrowding at Everest's peak. Climbers who had made their way to the summit over the weekend had waited for several days at a 'staging camp' for the conditions to improve before continuing with their ascent. The brief window of clear weather on Friday afternoon presented the first opportunity of the year to scale the world's highest mountain, resulting in a race to get to the top. Gyanendra Shrestha, of Nepal's Mountaineering Department, said: ‘There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday. Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2.30pm, which is quite dangerous.’ Climbers are advised to not attempt to reach the summit after 11am. The area above the last camp at South Col is nicknamed the ‘death zone’ because of the steep icy slope, treacherous conditions and low oxygen level. ‘With the traffic jam, climbers had a longer wait for their chance to go up the trail and spent too much time at higher altitude,' Shrestha said. 'Many of them are believed to be carrying limited amount of oxygen not anticipating the extra time spent.' The power of nature: A storm on Mount Everest, where four climbers died over the weekend

Feat: Climbers reaching the summit of Everest in 2009

The climbers who died were believed to have suffered high altitude cerebral oedema.

One of the victims - Nepalese-born Canadian Shriya Shah - had been updating her friends on her progress on Everest via her Facebook page.



A photo album titled 'Expedition Pictures' featured a series of comments from friends commending the climber's bravery.

However, the praise turned to messages of condolence as news of her death emerged.

One friend, Kimberly Vogel, posted: '

'Climbers had a longer wait for their chance to go up the trail and spent too much time at higher altitude' Gyanendra Shrestha, mountaineering official

Among the climbers who succeeded in the treacherous mission was student Mollie Hughes, 21, from Bristol, who has become the youngest woman ever to reach the summit.

Her mother was told she was safe after beginning her descent.

Her mother Jane Spreckley, from Torbay, Devon, is incredibly proud of her daughter's achievements.

She said: ‘We're all beyond proud of Mollie. She's dedicated her life to today and has raised an incredible £2500 for her charity Action Aid.

‘I still haven't managed to speak to Molly but the group radioed to base camp to say they had made it safely.

‘We are extremely relieved to hear everything has gone well and she is fine - we can't wait to hear all about it.’

Weather conditions are clear enough to permit climbing to Everest's 29,035ft peak for only a short time in May.

On May 10, 1996, eight people died on what is believed to be the worst day on Everest.

The main reason was said to be that climbers who started their ascents late in the day were caught in a snow storm that swept the mountain in the afternoon.

NEW HEIGHTS: THE RISE AND RISE OF EVEREST'S TOURISM Tourist attraction: Mount Everest's peak The latest deaths of Mount Everest have raised more questions over the commercialism of climbing the highest mountain in the world.

Just a few decades ago, scaling Everest was a feat attempted by only a handful of hardy and experienced mountaineers, trained to the highest fitness levels.

However, it would seem that now almost anyone could potentially attempt one of the toughest challenges known to man.

It has become a booming tourist industry in its own right, boosting the economy of Nepal, particularly during the climbing season from late March to the first week in June.

Hundreds of people attempt Everest every year and about 4,000 have climbed it since Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first scaled it in 1953. Anyone with the money to spare could sign up with one of the many tour operators that arrange trekking trips. Nepali mountain officials say about 200 people will attempt to scale the summit this weekend when the next safe window of weather is expected to allow safe ascent. Due to an increase in the number of climbers in recent years, it is now prone to overcrowding, especially around the area of Hillary Step - a rockface neat the Nepal-side of the peak - where there is a bottle neck of ascending and descending climbers. According to experts, because some people might have paid up to tens of thousands of pounds to take part in the challenge, climbers are taking risks when conditions are poor and time is running out for them to ascend. One of the worst disasters encountered at the mountain was during the 1996 season when 16 people died climbing Everest - eight of them on May 11 alone.

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