Tragedy amid fears Leeds United fan and 'beloved son' missing from Mount Everest and 'unable to be recovered'
An ardent Leeds United fan and his guide are feared dead after being hit by ice as they descended the summit of Mount Everest.
CrossFit gym owner Daniel ‘Pat’ Paterson, 39, from Wakefield, and his guide Pastenji Sherpa, 23, reached the summit of the 29,032ft (8,849m) peak on Tuesday (May 21) as part of a group.
Adventure company 8K Expeditions said that during their descent near the Hillary Step, a notoriously dangerous rock face near the summit of the mountain, at approximately 8,800 meters, they were caught in a “sudden cornice fall”, which impacted the group of climbers.
In a post today (Friday) they said that rescuers were unable to find the pair, adding: “Despite exhaustive search efforts, we regret to confirm that Daniel and Pastenji were unable to be recovered from following incident.”
Mr Paterson’s family had set up a GoFundMe page as they desperately tried to raise funds to find him. The page was shared far and wide - including by Leeds United player Liam Cooper - and over £75,000 has been raised.
In it they posted: “Dan is not just an adventurer; he is a beloved son, brother, partner, friend and a proud joint owner of Wakefield CrossFit. He is known for his adventurous spirit, his kindness, and his unwavering dedication to helping others.”
8K expeditions had previously reported that Mr Paterson and Mr Sherpa had fallen "towards the Tibet side through a very vertical steep".
Mr Paterson had been documenting his journey to climb Everest since he arrived in Nepal last month. He first toon on the climb to raise money for the family of a member of his gym, who had recently died from cancer.