Woman almost dies in Everest death zone and refuses to pay $10,000 rescue fee to Sherpa who saved her

A woman who refused to cough up payment to a Sherpa who saved her life on Mount Everest has sparked a furious backlash.

The woman, from China, was found unconscious at 8,500 metres and brought to safety by a Sherpa who was helping another climber scale the summit of the mountain.

Two other climbers were involved in the rescue of the woman, who has only been named in Chinese media by her surname, Liu.

The climber who discovered her, Fan Jiangtao, had moved her 200 metres down the mountain before he found he could not move her any further.

Another climber, Xie Ruxiang, came across them and agreed to help with the rescue, promising his Sherpa $10,000 to assist.

Weibo

Obliging, the Sherpa carried Liu on his back while Fan and Xie took turns lifting her legs to help blood flow.

Once in base camp, Liu was provided with days of medical treatment and returned to full health.

However, once the Sherpa asked about his rescue fee, she allegedly refused to pay the full amount.

Fan claimed: "Each of us paid the guide tips of US$1,800, and she said she would pay US$1,500 as tips. For the rescue fee of US$10,000, Liu said she would only pay US$4,000.

"What she said angered me. I told her, 'Since that is your attitude, I don’t want a cent from you. You don’t need to give me any money.'

"I’ve been preparing to climb Mount Everest for 40 days and spent 400,000 yuan (US$56,000) on reaching this goal. I was unwilling to give up on my plan to reach the peak. What’s more, the rescue fee was paid by me. I don’t know what to say. I am just wondering why she is reluctant to pay."

Shockingly, it is alleged that Liu has not even thanked the men who saved her life.

Fen said: "Xie and I feel bad about this incident. So far, she has not even said ‘thank you’ to us. She is so ungrateful! We don’t want to have anything to do with her from now on."

Pixabay

The story has been to shared to Chinese social media site, Weibo, with posts about the incident receiving over 300 million views.

One person wrote online: "After this saga, will future climbers save or help others on Mount Everest? I think probably not."

Another fumed: "Does she have a conscience? Is her life not worth US$10,000?"

However, others called for the woman to be spared from online attacks, as one wrote: "We’ve saved her, so we hope she can continue to live well. We should stop online attacks and humiliation."

Topics: China, Social Media

Ben Thompson