Kalpana’s Body Retrieved, But Formalities May Delay The Final Homecoming

Bhubaneswar: The search and rescue team of Sherpas successfully traced the mortal remains of mountaineer Kalpana Dash and brought it back to the base camp- 4 on Tuesday.

Six Sherpas had gone to bring back her body, while four others were engaged in binding a rope till the base camp. The body was brought back with the help of the rope.

According to Odisha government sources, the body will be flown to Kathmandu following completion of formalities at the base camp, Lukla.

The government is confident that with its constant and aligned efforts with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the team of rescuers, it will be successful in its mission to get the body of Kalpana back to her family and the state, the sources added.

However, it may not happen anytime soon as the medical formalities may take up some more time. A source privy to the developments said that the remains of the mountaineer is likely to reach Odisha within seven days.

The body is expected to reach Lukla, an airport in Nepal, by evening. A postmortem will then be conducted at a hospital in Kathmandu. After all paper work is over, it will be handed over to a three-member team from Odisha.

The team includes Kalpana’s brother Pradip Dash and Ganesh Jena, a family member as well as mountaineer. The state government will bear all the expenses to bring back her body.

Kalpana died on May 23 while descending from Mount Everest. The spot where she died is reportedly at an altitude of approximately 8,600m in the balcony area of Mount Everest.

Kalpana, the first person from the state to climb Mount Everest, breathed her last after successfully scaling Mt Everest for the second time. The 53-year-old was leading a three-member team on this expedition.

Nepal apart, she has scaled several peaks in Europe, South America and North America.