KATHMANDU: A 26-year-old Australian solo trekker who fell from a cliff near Lobuche in the Everest region has been evacuated to Kathmandu for treatment, according to a helicopter service provider.

Mukti Pandey, chairman of Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt. Ltd., said his company provided emergency evacuation services to Joshua Patrick Cherubino after he found the trekker in a life-or-death situation in the Everest region.

“After learning of his condition, I mobilized Base Camp Helicopter to evacuate him from Lobuche on October 27,” said Pandey, who is also co-owner of Base Camp Helicopter.

Joshua Patrick fell from a cliff at Kongma La Pass near Lobuche and sustained severe head injuries, Pandey said. “He was first taken to Lobuche and then evacuated to Kathmandu-based Frontline Hospital,” he said. He is now undergoing treatment in the ICU and recovering, according to doctors.

The former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Nima Nuru Sherpa lauded Pandey’s role in saving the life of the unattended trekker. “An unattended Australian citizen was rescued by helicopter by Mukti Pandey of Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt. Ltd. Hats off to them for their great humanism,” Sherpa said.

The incident also serves as a warning to solo trekkers in the high Himalayan region. Although the government has restricted solo trekking without guides in the Everest region, the rule is being widely violated, resulting in such life-threatening situations.

“Trekking alone in defiance of the government’s mandatory rule is intolerable,” warned officials.