Malaysian climber dies on North America's tallest peak

A Malaysian climber died this week near the summit of North America’s tallest peak, while two other Malaysians rescued from its slopes are in hospital, officials said. 

The three issued a distress call on Tuesday from the 20,310-foot (6,190-meter) summit of Mount Denali in Alaska, saying they were hypothermic and unable to descend. Clouds and high winds prevented their immediate rescue, a Denali National Park statement said.

One of the men managed to descend to 17,200 feet (5,243 meters) the same day and was evacuated in serious condition. The other two remained near the summit in a snow cave.

A park helicopter dropped survival gear near the location late Thursday and was able to rescue one climber the next morning using a rope basket.

The surviving climber said his companion had died on Wednesday, a park statement said.

Alpine Club Malaysia identified the deceased as Zulkifli Yusof, 37, and gave the suspected cause of death as high-altitude cerebral edema and hypothermia. 

It identified the two other climbers as Zainudin Lot and Illaham Ishak, both 47.

Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death on Saturday and said its consulate in Los Angeles was monitoring the condition of the two survivors receiving medical treatment.  

Efforts to recover the deceased man’s body depend on weather conditions, it said.

Yusof is the third person to die on Mount Denali this climbing season, local media reports say. 

About 1,000 climbers from around the world attempt to scale Denali annually, according to a study of mountaineering fatalities on the remote peak. 

Ninety-six climbers died on Denali between 1903 and 2006, and “climbers from Asia had the highest odds of dying on the mountain,” the University of Utah researchers found.