KATHMANDU, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Singaporean national died on Mount Manaslu in Nepal while acclimatizing for an expedition, local police said on Thursday.
The 50-year-old climber, Lau Wee Seng, died at an altitude of around 6,000 meters, apparently from altitude-related sickness, according to local police.
"A helicopter was mobilized to retrieve his body, but it could not land due to bad weather conditions," Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson for the District Police Office in Gorkha, told Xinhua.
The Department of Tourism has issued 539 climbing permits for the autumn expedition season as of Wednesday, including 480 permits for Mount Manaslu (8,163 meters), the world's eighth-highest mountain. ■