Top Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu found dead

One of the India’s top successful mountaineers, Malli Mastan Babu, is reportedly dead, according to the Times Now news. Babu had gone missing on his latest mission in Argentina while he went on a climb between Argentina and Chile.

Mastan Babu had been missing since March 24 when he went on a climb in the Andes Mountains in Argentina.

Mali was considered as the fastest “7 summiteer” in the world (172 days in 2006), and his friend Satyam Bheemarasetti confirmed the news of his death while speaking to Times Now.

The well wishers and friends of Baby had created a Facebook page, “Rescue Malli Mastan Babu'”, updated the status “Mountains retained its favourite child. R.I.P Malli Mastan Babu”.

The sister of deceased Babu is in Argentina and was overseeing the search operations that were being cared for him. Moreover, The Ministry of External Affairs had also mentioned earlier that it was coordinating with authorities in South America for the search of Babu.

The body of late Babu is lying at a very height and could not be brought from there due to bad weather and heavy rains, his friends told that they would need the help of government to bring it down.

The rescue team comprised of his friends and alumnus of Sainik School, NIT Jamshedpur, IIT Kharagpur and IIM Kolkata expressed the sorrow and grief over the death of the mountaineer and released a statement that says,

“With profound grief we break the sad news of our dear friend and one of the world’s mountaineering legend Malli Mastan Babu’s demise. Malli was on a solo attempt to summit Tres Cruces Mountain in the Andes to hoist the Indian flag one more time. He began for the summit on March 24 and was to return the same day. However, the weather turned extremely bad followed by heavy snowfall because of which Malli could not make it back to the base camp. An extensive private search and rescue operation was launched with the help of Malli’s mountaineering friends and funded by his alumni network. We appreciate the efforts by the governments of India, Chile, Argentina and Andhra Pradesh for their support to the rescue team. We appeal to the Indian government to support us in getting his mortal remains back and give him a final send off with full honour befitting a national hero.”

The cause behind the death of Mali is still unknown, and it would be investigated if the death occurred due to any injury or his inability to survive under bad conditions.

Also Read: Who was Malli Mastan Babu?

Few facts about Malli Mastan Babu

• Malli is the first South Asian to summit the highest peak in each of the seven continents (7 summits, 172 days in 2006) that is why he is known as the 7 summiteer.
• He is the first South Asian who has reached the top of the highest climb/peak in nine of the countries of total 12 of South America continent.
• Malli Mastan has many records in his name and had achieved a lot of success and recognition.
• Babu was basically from the Nellore region in Andhra Pradesh and is a Mauritius student of IIM-Calcutta, IIT-Kharagpur, NIT Jamshedpur.
• He was awarded with the title of the “Distinguished Alumnus of IIM Calcutta”
• He had left his home on December 16, 2014 for the trip to the Andes Mountains. Due the worsening of water after he’s started his climb, he had gone missing on March 24.

Image Source: onlinejournal.in