Mourning in Slovakia

Nepal: Mountaineer falls to his death after setting a record

The 7234-metre-high Langtang Lirung, which is located around 50 kilometers from the capital Kathmandu, is considered a particularly risky mountain due to the extreme danger of avalanches and falling rocks.(Bild: sunilmanandhar)

Triumph and death go hand in hand in the high mountains. The well-known Slovakian mountaineer Onderj Huserka tragically experienced this first-hand. After his historic ascent on the eastern flank of the Nepalese mountain Langtang Lirung, the 34-year-old had a fatal accident on the descent.

The 34-year-old, who had already scaled peaks in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Pamir Mountains, fell into a crevasse on the 7234-metre-high Langtang Lirung, the Slovakian Mountaineering Association announced on Sunday. After initially calling for a rescue operation for Huserka on Facebook, the association reported on Sunday that no helicopter could fly to the accident site due to bad weather. Huserka's family and friends would now have to "come to terms with the fact that Ondrej is no longer with us".

His Czech companion confirmed Huserka's death in a touching Facebook post. According to the post, the Slovakian fell about eight meters onto an angular surface during the descent and slid from there "in a labyrinth further into the depths of the glacier".

Comrade stayed with him "until his light went out"
Holecek described how he had tried for hours to rescue Huserka. As he was stuck upside down and apparently unable to move, this was not successful. "I roped down to him and stayed with him for four hours until his light went out. There is nothing to add," Holecek concluded his report.