Kenya deploys team to retrieve Chinese tourist’s body from mountain

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said Wednesday it had deployed a 20-member recovery team to recover the body of Chinese tourist who died while climbing Mountain Kenya on Sunday.
 

KWS spokesman Paul Gathitu said the team including six expert mountain climbers with appropriate equipment hiked to Old Moses /Judmaier Camp in Mt. Kenya National Park on Monday for their acclimatization overnight stay in preparation for the final ascent to recover the body of Fang Wenchao.
 

Fang, a 33-year-old Chinese citizen born in Shanghai, died while descending Mt. Kenya's Batian Summit, which is 5,199 metres above sea level. His climbing partner was a Kenyan technical climbing guide David Muigai.
 

Gathitu said the duo was descending from the summit when the accident happened near Shipton's Notch, a short climb from Batian.
 

He said Muigai despite being traumatized by the incident was able to climb down to where the body was, secured it and managed to descend to Shiptons Camp to report what had happened.
 

"He has since been brought down to Sirimon Gate of the Park for routine trauma and counseling services," Gathitu said.
 

He said Fang's family plans to arrive in Kenya on Wednesday to receive the body and take it back to China for final rites.

From Xinhua