Grieving family members and relatives who had gathered at the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) received the coffin. The coffin and Sherpa´s belongings were handed over to Chhiring Sherpa, brother of slain guide by the authorities.[break]
Sherpa along with a team of mountaineers was on his way to climb Nanga Parbat, the world´s ninth highest mountain, when a group of Taliban militants entered their tents at the base camp of the mountain in northern Pakistan at midnight of June 23 and killed all expedition members including 36-year old Sherpa. Sherpa was from Chheskam VDC in Solukhumbu district.
"Had we reached the camp little sooner, then we also would have been killed by the terrorists," said another Nepali Sherpa guide Mingma Dorchi, 25, who was away from the base camp during the attack, and returned home along with five other Sherpa survivors on Friday. It is very unfortunate that he had to return to the base camp with other climbers on Saturday while we stayed at Camp-2, he said. Altogether nine Sherpa guides from Nepal had gone to the Pakistani mountain and all survived except for Sona. The nine guides had reached the mountain to assist the climbers under the coordination of Seven Summits Trekking.
"On that fateful night at around 11 pm, we heard gun shots but ignored the sound thinking it might be someone hunting at night," said Mingma, adding, "But later a Pakistani cook informed us about the Taliban attack."
We hid in the glaciers throughout the night and in the morning we informed related expedition agencies for the rescue, the six survivors who were present at the TIA said.
When we reached the spot with the assistance of Pakistan Army, we found the bodies scattered along with several bullet wounds, Dorchi recalled. The terrorists had destroyed the camp and stolen valuable equipment belonging to the victims including Chinese and Ukrainians climbers, they said.
Meanwhile, the family members have complained that the body arrived late due to negligence on the part of the government of Nepal and the expedition agencies.
Furba Pasang Sherpa, Sona´s maternal uncle, complained, "The bodies of Chinese mountaineers reached home within three days but we had to wait for more than nine days. This is sheer negligence."
"Sherpas make huge contribution to the national economy; trekking and tourism agencies make a lot of money from Sherpas but during difficult times like these Sherpas are ignored," Furba said. Had the government taken serious initiatives we would not have to wait for so long, he said.
However, Mingmar Sherpa, the proprietor of Seven Summit Trekking Pvt Ltd, attributed the delay in bring the body to lack of regular flights between Kathmandu and Islamabad.
According to family sources, Sona´s final rites will be performed at Swayambhu on Monday.
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