Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who went missing on March 24 during a climb in the Andes Mountains in Argentina, has been found dead by authorities.
40-year-old Babu, an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Calcutta, was attempting to climb the ‘Nevado Tres Cruces’ mountain on the Argentina -Chile border, which reaches a height of 22,000 feet.
Babu had started his expedition from the base of Nevado Tres Cruces on March 24 but did not return the next day as had been scheduled.
The Facebook page ‘Rescue Malli Mastan Babu’ set up by his friends now has the line, “Mountains retained its favourite child. R.I.P Malli Mastan Babu”.
The cause of death is yet to be established but Babu’s friend Satyam Bheemarasetti said, “There was a lot of snow around him and his body was found in a tent. He must’ve got stuck inside his tent after the snow increased.”
He was always a very adventurous boy with so much passion for travelling, photography and meeting new people and always on the move.
–Malli Dorasanamma, Babu’s sister.
Mastan hailed from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and had close to 10-12 years of experience as a mountaineer.
He set the world record for climbing the highest summits in each of the seven continents of the world. He achieved this feat in 176 days of climbing. He was also the first Indian to summit Mt Vinson Massif, the tallest peak in Antarctica, and the first person from Andhra Pradesh to scale Mount Everest, according to NDTV.
Tributes have started pouring in for the mountaineer on social media.
Challenge is what enthrals me and free spirit is what I exhibit. ever Give Up, Never Give In!” is a phrase that works miracles for me. Courage and Conviction” has been a way of expression of my self.
–Malli Mastan Babu
(This piece was edited for clarity.)
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