An American climber and doctor died while climbing Mount Everest on Monday.
Dr. Jonathan Sugarman was part of an expedition organized by International Mountain Guides (IMG), a company based in Washington state, per The Seattle Times.
IMG announced the death of a team member on Monday, which the CEO, Eric Simonson, clarified was not due to an accident. He did not provide additional details about the cause of death but said the rest of the team is safe.
“The rest of the IMG climbing team is all doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances,” said Simonson, per NBC News.
The University of Washington also confirmed Dr. Sugarman’s death and said that he was a clinical faculty member known for his work in Native American healthcare and international health, per ABC News.
The U.S. Embassy in Nepal released a statement expressing condolences on Tuesday.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends,” said the embassy, per NBC News. “The Embassy is in contact with Dr. Sugarman’s family and with local authorities.”
IMG said that the incident did not involve a climbing accident or a route issue that could affect the safety of other climbers.
“It is with deep sorrow that IMG reports the death of one of our Everest 2023 team members at Camp 2,” stated IMG on their website. “We can confirm that this event was not the result of a climbing accident or route condition that would be of potential impact or safety concern to any other teams on the mountain.”
The team had begun moving up the mountain on April 29 and had reached Camp 2, two levels higher than base camp. According to Pasang Sherpa, an expedition organizer, Sugarman fell ill at Camp 2, per The Seattle Times.
“We ask the climbing community to allow our team and this climber’s family the space and time to grieve and contend with their loss,” reads the IMG statement.