Mount Everest guides accused of targeting climbers in alleged $20M fake rescue scheme – National
Ten people have been arrested in connection with the alleged scheme, Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said in a series of news releases last month, including individuals from a trekking company, helicopter operators, hospital employees based in Kathmandu and rescue workers.
The companies and individuals are accused of fabricating rescue missions on Mount Everest by presenting fraudulent documents to Nepali police and insurance companies, including passenger manifests, medical documents and other forms to claim insurance funds, the CIB said.
“Such actions have tarnished the nation’s prestige,” the Bureau stated, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
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NBC News reported that 32 guides have been charged, and investigators have identified nearly 4,800 international climbers who were treated at implicated hospitals between 2022 and 2025.
“Foreign tourists were systematically defrauded,” the bureau said.
A spokesperson told the U.S. outlet that the scheme specifically targeted foreigners experiencing health problems while hiking in Nepal’s Himalayan region. According to an investigation by the Kathmandu Post, the entities involved would stage rescue efforts and file insurance claims that bore little resemblance to the patient’s actual health emergency.
In this photo taken Oct. 4, 2025, and released by Lingsuiye, villagers with their oxen and horses ascend the mountain during rescue efforts to reach hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet.
Lingsuiye via AP
The paper’s investigation said the alleged scam was complex and reportedly relied on the co-operation of numerous entities, including guides who it said would offer tired trekkers the chance to be helicoptered off the mountain range if they feigned illness.
Another alleged method was to frighten trekkers experiencing symptoms of altitude sickness into believing they were having serious complications and needed to be evacuated, the outlet found. In some cases, the investigation alleges that techniques such as excessive water intake were used to exacerbate altitude sickness symptoms.
Global News has not independently verified the findings.
The CIB said some of the claims made in the investigation were false, including one that alleged guides had poisoned climbers.
“The investigation so far has not revealed the fact that poisonous substances have been adulterated,” it said.
Standing at 29,029 feet above sea level, attempting to summit Mount Everest poses many risks. About 1,000 people attempt to reach the top every year; only 7,583 have ever successfully completed the trek, according to NBC News.
Rescues and medical emergencies are commonplace on Mount Everest. In October last year, more than 350 climbers were rescued after a freak blizzard trapped them at a campsite in Tibet.
The Hikers’ path was blocked by heavy snowfall, trapping them at an elevation of more than 4,900 metres (16,000 feet), according to a report from Chinese digital news site Jimu News.
Hundreds of locals were deployed to clear a path so that trapped climbers could come down, the Jimu report said.
The blizzard struck during China’s Golden Week holiday, which marks the start of a busy tourist season on Everest, typically characterized by clear skies and comfortable temperatures at this time of year.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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