Climber, 82, dies on Everest

AN 82-YEAR-OLD former Nepalese foreign minister has died on the slopes of Mount Everest while attempting to become the oldest person to climb the world's highest mountain.

Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay was returning from the first camp set on the slopes of Everest back down to base camp when he collapsed on Monday evening, Mountaineering Department official Tilak Pandey said. He was going back to the base camp to get medical attention because he was feeling unwell. He was trying to break the record set by a Nepalese climber who scaled the 29,035ft peak at the age of 76.