Famous Swiss climber killed near Mt. Qomolangma

Famous Swiss climber Ueli Steck, popularly known as "Swiss Machine," died on Sunday as he fell to the foot of Mount Nuptse, Nepalese officials and expedition organizing company said.

It is the first death in this spring season in the Qomolangma region, according to officials of Nepal's Department of Tourism (DoT) which gives permit for mountain climbing.

Steck, 40, was heading toward camp 2 from camp 1 of Mt. Qomolangma, also known as Mt. Everest. The camp also serves as a base for climbing the 7,855-meter high Nuptse as he slipped 1,000 meter down to the foot of the mountain, Khem Raj Aryal, an official at the mountaineering division of the DoT told Xinhua.

The incident took place at the altitude of 6,400 meters from the sea level at around 8 a.m. local time (0215 GMT), according to the Seven Summits Treks company that organized Steck's expedition.

After the incident, his body was brought to Lukla airport and latter to Kathmandu by helicopter.

"His body now has been kept at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for the postmortem," Nivesh Karki, manager of the Seven Summits Treks, told Xinhua.

According to the DoT, Steck who had received permit to climb the Nuptse on April 13 had headed to the mountain on the same day. He had gone there with 14 other members of an expedition team. There were two Swiss climbers including Steck and Nepalese Sherpa guides, according to the Seven Summits Treks.

Steck, who is famous for his speed records, had won multiple awards for his rapid ascents. The climber had reached the summit of Qomolangma in 2012 without oxygen and in 2015 climbed all 82 Alpine peaks over 4,000 meters in 62 days.

The Swiss climber, who vowed never to return to Mt. Qomolangma after a brawl with local Sherpa guides in 2012, was back in Nepal in 2013 to scale the 8,091-meter Mt. Annapurna. Endit