A spanish mountaineer, Juan José Polo Carbayo, died at the weekend as he was descending the Tibetan side of Everest after conquering the highest summit in the world.

"Extreme exhaustion was the most likely cause of death", said Hari Parjauli of the Nepal-based company Himalayan Guides, that organised the expedition, adding that 43-year-old Carbayo died on Saturday after becoming detached from the rest of the group that made it to the top.

"Carbayo was climbing in a group of four, each with his sherpa, and the Spaniard got left behind", he said.

"The sherpa has assured us that he only left him when he was already dead", ascertained Parjauli, who explained that two of the other climbers in the group were from Canada and the third from Mongolia.
 
Parjauli confirmed that according to the sherpa's statement, the Spaniard died at an altitude of over 8,000 metres.  He also added that they had not yet been able to recover the body.

According to the experts, many climbers prefer the ascent and descent on the Tibetan side of the mountain because the expeditions are cheaper via that route, despite the fact that it is easier to acclimatise to the altitude on the Nepalese side.

Last weekend was one of the most deadly weekends on Everest in recent years.  The Spaniard was one of five climbers to die on Saturday or Sunday on the slopes of the world's highest mountain.

The other climbers who perished this weekend are Eberhard Schaaf, (61 from Germany), Sriya Shah (33 from Nepal), Song Wond-din (44 from Korea) and Wen Ryi Ha (55 from China).