Nepal’s Mountaineering Association has asked people who are climbing in the snowy mountain area to bring back empty oxygen cylinders used to re-oxygenate for medical use, in light of the rapid development of the second outbreak in Nepal, which has led to a shortage of oxygen, Nepalese media reported on May 10.
Kul Bahadur Gurung, a senior official with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said climbers and their Sherpa collaborators were using at least 3,500 oxygen cylinders during the spring 2021 climbing season. As is customary, these used empty cylinders were discarded in the mountains and eventually buried in the snow.
“We call on climbers and Sherpas to work together to bring back empty oxygen cylinders as much as possible because they can be re-oxygenated and used to treat patients with coronavirus who are in dire need of oxygen,” Gurung told foreign media. ”
According to Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal urgently needs 25,000 oxygen cylinders in response to the current outbreak, and if the oxygen shortage is not alleviated, deaths from coronavirus in Nepal are likely to continue to rise.
