Chinese woman saved after falling unconscious on Mount Everest refuses to pay Sherpa guide US$10,000 rescue fee, angering mainland public

The story has caught national attention in China, with 300 million views on Weibo alone and many people denounced the woman’s alleged behaviour

Despite their disappointment, the two men who abandoned their Everest dream to help with the rescue are asking the public not to bully the woman online

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Two Chinese climbers who helped the Sherpa guide rescue Liu, claim they had to pay her rescue fee and did not receive a “thank you” from her. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Jun 2023Updated: 9:21am, 10 Jun 2023

A woman from China who almost died while climbing Mount Everest has allegedly refused to pay the Sherpa guide who saved her life a US$10,000 rescue fee, prompting a backlash on mainland social media.

Two other Chinese mountain climbers who helped rescue the woman found unconscious at 8,500 metres above sea level ended up paying the fee, news site cqcb.com reported.

According to Chinese media reports, the 50-year-old woman from central China’s Hunan province, identified by the surname Liu, was found unconscious near the peak of Mount Everest by the Sherpa guide, who was not identified in the report, as he was escorting Fan Jiangtao to the summit on the evening of May 18.

Fan agreed to help save Liu and, in doing so, knowingly abandoned his dream of reaching the summit.

The two men only managed to move Liu 200 metres before they reached the limit of their endurance due to the extreme conditions. Fan then went alone to seek help and encountered Xie Ruxiang, a fellow Hunan Provincial Mountain Climbing Association member. Xie agreed to help with the rescue, abandoning his plan to reach the summit.

The area where Liu was found is called the “death zone”, where temperatures can dip to minus 30 degrees Celsius and lower. Photo: Weibo

Xie claimed his Sherpa guide, the strongest climber among them, was initially reluctant to help so he offered a reward of US$10,000 and he then agreed.

Chinese woman saved after falling unconscious on Mount Everest refuses to pay Sherpa guide US$10,000 rescue fee, angering mainland public

The story has caught national attention in China, with 300 million views on Weibo alone and many people denounced the woman’s alleged behaviour Despite their disappointment, the two men who abandoned their Everest dream to help with the rescue are asking the public not to bully the woman online

The story has caught national attention in China, with 300 million views on Weibo alone and many people denounced the woman’s alleged behaviour

Despite their disappointment, the two men who abandoned their Everest dream to help with the rescue are asking the public not to bully the woman online