Πηγή: http://thehimalayantimes.com/rssReferen ... sID=452341Nine climbers duped of their millions
Added At: 2015-04-20 9:14 AM Last Updated At: 2015-04-20 11:35
RAJAN POKHREL
KATHMANDU: The first-ever case of fraud has been reported in more than 50-year history of mountaineering expeditions in Nepal after foreign climbers were duped of millions of rupees by an expedition operator.
Nine mountaineers – eight Greek nationals and an Indian woman – have been forced to cancel their Mt Everest expedition from Tibet side this season after they were conned by a Kathmandu-based operator, who promised them high-quality service up to the top of mountain but fled with their money.
Talking to this daily, the distressed climbers said their dream to scale the world’s highest peak was shattered by Tshering Dorjee Sherpa, who runs Himalayan Alpine Adventure Treks and Expeditions in Kapan, Kathmandu, after he duped them of more than Rs 12 million and disappeared.
Nikolas Mangitsis, the team leader of Hellas Everest Expedition 2015, said, “This is unbelievable.” He told THT that Sherpa, who accompanied them from TIA to Manaslu Hotel on April 14, collected US$ 87,000 and 11,500 euros from them for a 50-day expedition slated to begin on April 17. Nikolas, who is visiting Nepal for the eighth time and had scaled Mt Everest from Nepal side in 2004, said he had scaled Mt K2 through Sherpa’s company in 2011.
Another climber, Georgios Raios, said Sherpa failed to show up in the office on Friday when they reached there with five climbing Sherpas and other support staff. “Since then, he has not been in touch with the climbers or his office staff,” he said.
The China Tibet Mountaineering Association issues Everest climbing permit charging US$ 7,200 for individual foreign climbers and US$ 3,000 for a Nepali mountaineer.
Sherpa, a resident of Solukhumbu, has not only duped the climbers of their money but also fled with their Tibet entry visas issued by the Chinese embassy. With the help of Greek consulate, seven climbers have, however, managed to get return tickets to Athens for Tuesday, while one climber will return tomorrow.
The Indian climber, however, is keen to scale Mt Everest from the Nepal side if she gets her money back. “I want my money back. It was life-long earning of my father,” Chandana Pradhan, a climber from Jharkhand, said, adding that she paid INR 1.21 million to the company for her first-ever attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. “I will try to get a climbing permit to scale Everest from Nepal side after I get my money back,” she told this daily.
According to operators, this is the first-ever case of fraud reported in the history of country’s lucrative expedition business. “Though cases of cheating and forgery have often been reported in small-scale trekking business, it is the first-ever case of fraud in the field of mountaineering expeditions,” Damber Parajuli, chairman of the Expedition Operators’ Association of Nepal, said.
Narahari Regmi, deputy superintendent of police, Bouddha, confirmed that Sherpa had fled after pocketing climbers’ money. “A police team raided his office and house,” he said, adding that an intensive search was under way to nab him. Sources claimed that the call details of Sherpa had given a lead to the police and they hoped nab him soon.
Tulsi Gautam, Director General at the Department of Tourism, said the incident highlighted the need for strict monitoring of the mushrooming adventure business companies.
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