Renowned climber Noel Hanna dies on Nepal peak

KATHMANDU - Renowned Northern Irish climber Noel Hanna has died in Nepal while descending from the top of the treacherous Annapurna mountain range, officials said Tuesday.

The 56-year-old adventurer was returning after a successful summit of the 8,091-metre (26,545-foot) peak when he died at Camp 4 on Monday night.

"His body has been brought down and flown to Kathmandu," Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks told AFP from Annapurna base camp.

Hanna had summited Everest ten times and climbed the highest point on all seven continents.

In 2006, he climbed the world's highest peak and then cycled from the route's base camp to the sea in eastern India, reaching the Bay of Bengal after a marathon two-week bike ride.

Annapurna, the world's tenth highest mountain, is avalanche-prone, technically difficult and has a higher death rate than Everest.

Rescuers and helicopters were busy on the mountain on Tuesday in efforts to locate three other Indian climbers.

Record-holding Indian climber Baljeet Kaur, 28, and compatriot Arjun Vajpai, 30, were both rescued after a search lasting hours, the tourism department said.

Another 34-year-old Indian climber, who fell into a crevasse on Monday, is yet to be found.

The spring Himalayan climbing season had a tragic start last week with the death of three Nepali climbers on Everest.

The trio were crossing the treacherous Khumbu icefall on Wednesday as part of a supply mission when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into a deep crevasse.

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.

The government has issued more than 700 climbing permits for various Himalayan mountains this season, including 319 for Everest - AFP