Mount Everest guides allegedly poisoned tourists in insurance scam

(NewsNation) – Dozens of Mount Everest guides have been accused of poisoning foreign climbers as part of a scheme to create emergencies and collect millions in insurance money.

Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau reportedly uncovered the $20 million insurance fraud scam in 2018, but recently reopened the investigation.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot from the base camp on Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,200 meters on May 16, 2020. (Jigme Dorje/Xinhua via AP, File)

Guides would allegedly create emergencies for tourists from countries like the U.K. or Australia, where it would be more difficult for insurance companies to verify incidents in the Kathmandu area of Nepal, the Kathmandu Post reported.

Authorities say guides would wait for climbers to experience mild altitude sickness, and then urge the climbers to take acetazolamide tablets, which treat altitude sickness, albeit with “excessive” amounts of water that would worsen symptoms. In one case, a guide was accused of mixing baking powder into a climber’s food to bring on similar symptoms. In both cases, the guides would then call for a helicopter to extract the sickened climbers.

Another method described by the Kathmandu Post involved the guides working together with climbers, and telling them to fake an illness so they wouldn’t have to descend the mountain on foot.

Helicopter companies, local hospitals and more remote hospitals were also alleged to be part of the scam, as guides had reportedly falsified the need for emergency helicopter evacuations and additional treatment.

The Kathmandu Post reported that Era International Hospital took in more than $15.87 million and Shreedhi International Hospital received more than $1.22 million in connection with falsified rescue operations.

Services including Mountain Rescue Service allegedly carried out 171 unnecessary rescues, collecting $10.31 million; Nepal Charter Service allegedly collected $8.2 million; and Everest Experience and Assistance was linked to $11.04 million in international insurance claims, the outlet reported.

Between 2022 and 2025, 4,782 international climbers said to be affected or involved in the schemes, and 32 guides have been charged, The Independent reported.

Altitude sickness occurs when people ascend to high altitudes too quickly and can begin at 8,000 feet. Nearly everyone will experience altitude sickness at 11,000 feet if not allowed to acclimate, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

It is caused by a lower level of oxygen in the air at high elevations. Symptoms of altitude sickness include headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, malaise, trouble sleeping, dizziness, lightheadedness and vision changes.

The sickness can turn deadly by causing the lungs to fill with fluid or causing the brain to swell. Those severe forms of altitude sickness can cause death in as little as 12 hours.

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