KATHMANDU: The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has called on the government to establish an independent investigation committee into the circumstances that left Sherpa guide Dawa Sherpa alone in Everest's death zone for seven days, while also visiting him at HAMS Hospital where he remains in the ICU in stable condition.

NMA President Fur Gelje Sherpa, General Secretary Rajendra Bahadur Lama, and Chief Administrative Officer Jinesh Sindurakar visited HAMS Hospital in Dhumbarahi on June 4 to inquire about Dawa's health. Doctors confirmed his condition is stable and that he is responding positively to treatment.

"Abandoning a mountain guide in the death zone of Sagarmatha raises serious ethical and humanitarian concerns that must be addressed," the NMA said in a statement, urging the government to hold accountable any individuals found responsible for actions that endangered the life of a fellow mountaineer.

The association also called on all expedition operators and mountaineering agencies to reinforce the principles of responsibility, care, and solidarity among their teams, stressing that the safety of every individual on the mountain must remain a collective priority.

Dawa, popularly known as Hillary Dawa from Okhaldhunga, went missing on May 29 near the Yellow Band above Camp III after being left behind by fellow climbers from Himalayan Traverse during descent. 

No rescue was launched for six days. Expedition members removed all seven icefall ladders on May 31 and returned to base camp while Dawa remained stranded at extreme altitude without food or bottled oxygen. He was found alive on June 4, crawling toward base camp at Crampon Point, rescued by a Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee garbage management team. His family had already begun funeral rituals before news of his survival reached them.

He is currently receiving intravenous Iloprost therapy for frostbite, supplemental oxygen, and intravenous fluid resuscitation at HAMS Hospital, where doctors have diagnosed Grade II frostbite on both little fingers, Grade I frostbite on his right thumb and middle finger, and a right medial femoral condyle fracture with distal thigh intramuscular hematoma.

"The NMA looks forward to seeing him regain his strength and return to the profession to which he has dedicated his life," Fur Gelje Sherpa said.