At least 346 people have died attempting to reach—or return from—the summit of Mount Everest which, at , is Earth's highest mountain and a particularly desirable peak for mountaineers. The most recent years without known deaths on the mountain are 1977, in which only two people reached the summit, and 2020, when permits were suspended by Nepal because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deaths have been attributed to hypoxia, avalanches, falls, serac collapse, exposure, frostbite, or health problems related to conditions on the mountain. Not all bodies have been located, so details on those deaths are not available.

The upper reaches of the mountain are in the death zone, a mountaineering term for altitudes above a certain point – around , or less than of atmospheric pressure – where the oxygen pressure level is not sufficient to sustain human life. Many deaths in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the effects of the death zone, either directly (loss of vital functions) or indirectly (unwise decisions made under stress or physical weakening leading to accidents). In the death zone, the human body cannot acclimatize, as it uses oxygen faster than it can be replenished. An extended stay in the zone without supplementary oxygen will result in deterioration of bodily functions, loss of consciousness, and death.

Background

During the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition, two people died en route to the mountain: an unidentified porter and heart attack victim A. M. Kellas. The first recorded deaths on the mountain itself were seven porters who perished in an avalanche in the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition. Their names were inscribed on a memorial cairn erected at the Base Camp used by the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition.

In 1996, 15 people died trying to reach the summit, the most in a single year to that date. The number reflects the large number of climbers that year rather than a spike in the death rate: before 1996, one in four climbers died making the ascent, while in 1996, one in seven died. But it also includes the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, during which eight people died due to being caught in a blizzard while making summit attempts. Among them was guide Rob Hall, the first non-Sherpa to have summited five times. Two books detailing the disaster, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev, both written by mountaineers who were on Mount Everest at the time, give conflicting accounts of the events.

The 1996 record was surpassed in the 2014, 2015 and 2023 seasons. There were few summits from the south in 2014 and none in 2015. On April 18, 2014, 16 Sherpas were killed in an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall. On April 25, 2015, 19 people—the most ever in a single day on Everest—were killed in an avalanche at base camp after a 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 in Nepal. During the 2023 season, a total of 17 climbers died to and from the summit. Almost none of the deaths are related to one another.

In 2001, Babu Chiri Sherpa died from a fall near Camp II. He had climbed the mountain 10 times and spent 20 hours on the summit of Everest in 1999, then a new record. He also climbed to the summit twice in two weeks and held the record climbing time from base camp to summit of 16 hours and 56 minutes.

In 2019, 11 people died on Everest during a record season with a huge number of climbers. Videos shared on social media showed climbers waiting in long queues to advance up the mountain.

Due to the difficulties and dangers in bringing bodies down, most who die on the mountain remain where they fall. Two Nepalese climbers died on October 24, 1984, while trying to recover the body of Hannelore Schmatz. In 1999, searchers for George Mallory's body found his and other bodies in the snow in a catchment basin near the peak.

Melting glaciers are revealing bodies on Everest. The Nepalese government does clean-up efforts to remove trash left by climbers, and also recovers bodies along with these efforts. Four unidentified bodies were recovered in 2019. Another five unidentified bodies were recovered in 2024.

Deaths

Information on of the people who died climbing Mount Everest are listed in the table below.

Name Date Expedition Nationality Cause of death LocationRemains status Alexander Mitchell Kellas 521921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition Heart attack En route to base camp near the Tibetan village of Kampa Dzong Recovered, buried near Kampa Dzong Unknown porter En route to base camp near the Tibetan village of Kampa Dzong Dorje 1922 British Mount Everest expedition Avalanche Lhakpa Avalanche Norbu Avalanche Pasang Avalanche Pema Avalanche Sange Avalanche Temba Avalanche 1924 British Mount Everest expedition Pneumonia Brain hemorrhage 22 Unknown N.E. RidgeRemains found (partial) in 2024 37 Possible ice axe injury following a fall N.E. Ridge Remains found and buried in situ in 1999 36 Solo Expedition Possible exhaustion, exposure or starvation East Rongbuk GlacierRemains found in 1935 Swiss Expedition Falling ice Lhotse Face Chinese Expedition Northern Slope China Mountain sickness China N.E. Ridge Lhotse face 27 Norman Dyhrenfurth's American Mount Everest Expedition Crushed under serac Icefall Chinese Everest Expedition China Fall Icefall Phu Dorjee Sherpa Japanese Everest Expedition Fall into a crevasse Icefall Japanese Skiing Expedition Avalanche Icefall Avalanche Avalanche Icefall Avalanche Icefall Avalanche Icefall 36 Crushed under serac 5525 m Heart attack 6150m 31 International Expedition of 1971 Succumbed after falling and being suspended above a crevasse during a blizzard 6900m Mt. Qomolangma expedition Crushed under serac Icefall Avalanche S.W. Face 34 1974 French Mount Everest expedition Avalanche 6400m Avalanche 6400m Avalanche 6400m Avalanche 6400m Avalanche 6400m Avalanche 6400m China Exhaustion, fall 8500m ; deaf-mute Sherpa porter "Young" 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition Nepal Drowned Below Base Camp 34 Bonington's 1975 Everest expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) Near Summit British-Nepal Army Everest Expedition Fall into a crevasse Camp II Fall into a crevasse Icefall Chinese Iranian Expedition China Fall into a crevasse Icefall 1979 Yugoslav West Ridge expedition Fall Icefall 48 Gerhard Schmatz German Expedition or 1979 Swabian expedition Exposure or exhaustion 8400m S.E. Ridge 39 Exposure or exhaustion 8400m S.E. RidgeRemains found, body removal was attempted but resulted in death for two sherpas Japanese Alpine Club reconnaissance expedition China Avalanche China Avalanche China Avalanche 31 Japanese Alpine Society expedition Avalanche 7900m North Face (Hornbein Couloir) Italian expedition Fall Icefall Crushed under serac Lhotse Face 28 Japanese winter expedition Fall 6900m W. Cwm 30 Whittaker American expedition Fall 8000m 31 British Mount Everest expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) North-East Ridge (approx. 8200m) 33 Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) North-East Ridge (approx. 8200m) 20 Bill March Canadian expedition Avalanche Icefall 42 Avalanche Icefall 38 Avalanche Icefall 33 Crushed under serac Icefall Spanish expedition Internal hemorrhage 6770m Fall 8300m W ridge 33 Japanese expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) Near Summit Near Summit Japanese expedition Fall Near Summit Fall 8600m SE Ridge Fall Near Summit Indian expedition Avalanche Icefall 27 Micheal Lane British North Face expedition Avalanche 6238m 40 Bulgarian West Face expedition Bulgaria Disappearance (likely accidental death during descent) 8500m West Ridge 28 Australian-New Zealand expedition Fall, while searching for Craig Nottle 8000m 23 Fall 8000m 50 (Slovak) Exhaustion + Fall 1000m to Western Cauldron 6700m during descent found by Jozef Justo, buried where found 35 Mission to recover body of Hannelore Schmatz Fall 8400m S.E. Ridge 36 Fall 8400m S.E. Ridge Navarrese expedition Fall 7300m Japanese expedition Avalanche 40 Indian expedition Fall 7986m Exposure South Col Exposure South Col 28 Exposure South Col Exposure South Col 22 Avalanche 52 Eiselin Sports expedition Avalanche 7315m Crushed under serac Icefall Avalanche Fall 7700m 45 Disappearance (likely accidental death during descent) Hornbein Couloir, Near Summit 44 Japanese expedition Drowned East Rongbuk Glacier British expedition Avalanche Base camp 35th Anniversary climb with Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese nationals Heart attack Base camp International Exposure 7700m Avalanche 7200m Fall 8200m Fall 8200m 34 Czechoslovak - New Zealand Mount Everest Southwest Face Expedition (Slovak)Disappearance (death during descent after reaching South Summit, sudden worsening weather) 8000m S.W. Ridge 34 (Slovak) 8000m S.W. Ridge 26 (Slovak) 8000m S.W. Ridge 33 (Slovak) 8000m S.W. Ridge Cerebral thrombosis South Col 35 Fall Descending South Col Route Fall Descending South Col Route 37 Polish-led expedition that included four U.S. mountaineers Avalanche 7200m W ridge 37 Avalanche 7200m W ridge 51 Avalanche 7200m W ridge 42 Avalanche 7200m W ridge 50 Avalanche injuries Lho La camp South Korean expedition Altitude sickness, heart attack Avalanche Avalanche Avalanche Japanese-Korean expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) Austrian solo expedition Exposure 7850m N.E. Ridge Japanese solo expedition Fall 8700m NE Indian expedition Exposure Exposure 43 Heart attack Indian expedition Fall Icefall Japanese expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) 8350m NE Spanish expedition Fall 32 Nepalese expedition Disappearance (likely accidental death during climb) 8750m S.E. Ridge 8750m S.E. Ridge 41 40th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay's climb Fall 8750m S.E. Ridge South Korean expedition Fall 8450m S.E. Ridge Fall 8450m S.E. Ridge 66 British expedition HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema) 6400mBuried near the Changtse Glacier Fall German expedition Cerebral edema 'Norman' 27 Taiwanese expedition Exposure or exhaustion 43 Italian expedition Fall North Face 53 Australian expedition Fall 8500m NE Norwegian expedition Avalanche American expedition Fall South Korean Expedition 6900m South Korean expedition Fall Near Summit 36 "Makalu" Gau Ming-Ho Taiwanese expedition Injuries from a fall 7200m South Col 40 Mountain Madness Suspected HACE (high-altitude cerebral edema), exhaustion, frostbite and exposure. 8300m