An Australian man has reportedly died while descending Mount Everest.

The 54-year-old, named as Queenslander Francesco Marchetti, was climbing down to some lower camps from the North Col route on Sunday morning, the Himalayan Times reported.

Officials at the Tibet Mountaineering Association said: “The climber breathed his last at an altitude of 7,500m on the Tibetan side when he was descending to lower camps after suffering from altitude sickness at around 8,000m on the mountain.”

Marchetti, from Mackay in central Queensland, appears to have been an experienced climber, with many pictures on his social media pages of him climbing and hiking with his wife.

Marchetti and his wife Sandy’s 2015 attempt to climb Everest was foiled by an earthquake in Nepal.

The mayor of Mackay, Greg Williamson, said the death was devastating news. “I have known Frank for over 30 years. He is amongst the most principled, honest, driven men I have ever met,” Williams wrote on his Facebook page.

“Franks [sic] goal was to get to the top. According to the reports his death was on decent [sic] from the summit – so hopefully he made it,” Williams said.

Mackay residents responded to the post by remembering Marchetti as an honourable and driven man.

“Our community is a poorer place today with the loss of Frank,” said family friend Kylie Porter.

“RIP to such a local icon,” wrote Carissa Mansfield.

An American doctor and a Slovak mountaineer also died in separate incidents near the summit of Everest on Sunday.

Search operations continue for an Indian climber who hasn’t been seen since Saturday.

