A 50-year-old American climber, Roland Yearwood, died on Sunday morning near the summit of the world’s highest peak, taking the death toll at Mt Everest to three in the last 20 days, the government officials said.  With this toll, 44 people have lost their lives on Everest in last four year.   

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old Indian citizen Ravi Kumar has been missing from balcony (8,400m) since Saturday after his successful ascent of Mt Everest, said Gyanendra Shrestha, an official of the Tourism Ministry.

“Search and rescue efforts are underway,” said Shrestha, adding that another Slovakian climber has sustained serious injuries.

The American, Yearwood, holding passport no. 552705032 died at balcony. He was a member of SummitClimb Everest Expedition 2017 led by Daniel Lee Mazur.

This year's climbing season has already been marred by three deaths. Min Bahadur Sherchan, 85, and experienced Swiss climber Ueli Steck have already died during an acclimatisation climb.

Last year, Everest had claimed six lives.

On April 18, 2014, there was an avalanche near Everest Base Camp which killed 16 Nepali guides. Rescuers pulled out 13 bodies and the remaining three were never recovered as search and rescue operations were called off due to too much risk. Then in 2015, quake-triggered avalanches killed 19 climbers.

According to the Tourism Department, 373 fee-paying climbers have received permits to make an attempt on the world’s highest peak this spring.

This is the highest number of climbing permits issued for Everest during a single season. With each climber hiring at least one local climbing guide, the total number of climbers is likely to touch 800 this season.

On May 15, the Gurkha Everest Expedition reached the top of Everest, becoming the first to scale the world's tallest peak this year. The 14 summiteers included soldiers serving with the Brigade of Gurkhas and high-altitude mountain guides.