SINGAPORE: The Singapore-based Malaysian doctor who was rescued from a mountain in Nepal last week has died.
Dr Chin Wui Kin, 48, was stranded on Nepal’s Mount Annapurna for two nights. He had summited the mountain but failed to return to the nearest camp.
READ: Singapore-based Malaysian doctor in critical condition after ‘miracle’ rescue from Nepal mountain
Four sherpas were deployed to rescue him and he was found in a semi-conscious state in what was described as a “miracle” rescue.
Dr Chin was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu last Friday (Apr 26), where he was joined by his wife. An emergency physician at Mediciti Hospital had told AFP his condition was critical and that he was suffering from severe hypothermia and had frostbite on his hands and feet.
Friends and relatives paid their respects at Dr Chin’s wake at a Buddhist temple in Bukit Merah on Thursday.
Well-wishers walked up a hill to the temple, filling up the yellow tent to pay their final respects and to send their condolences to the family. The sombre atmosphere was occasionally broken up with chatter.
Dr Chin’s wife, who was dressed in black and teary-eyed, requested for privacy through a friend, who explained that it was a difficult time for her.
The wake of Dr Chin Wui Kin, who died after getting rescued from a mountain in Nepal on Apr 26, 2019. (Photo: Johannes Tjendro)
STRANDED FOR TWO NIGHTS
Dr Chin had reached the top of the 8,100m Himalayan mountain on Apr 23 with about 30 other trekkers, but became separated from his group while descending the treacherous peak.
Efforts began to find him after his guide stumbled to the camp and raised the alert.
Two days later, a rescue helicopter spotted him waving from an altitude of about 7,500m, his expedition organiser Seven Summits Treks said.
A visiting senior anaesthesiology consultant at Singapore’s Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Dr Chin’s medical knowledge and familiarity with mountains may have helped keep him alive, said a sherpa last week.
According to his Facebook page, Dr Chin worked at various hospitals in Singapore including at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Alexandra Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the National University Hospital.
Mount Annapurna is technically difficult and avalanche-prone, and has a higher death rate than Everest, the world’s highest peak.
Nine South Korean climbers were killed last October after a snowstorm swept them off a cliff on Mount Gurja, west of Annapurna.
Additional reporting by Johannes Tjendro.
