INDIAN CLIMBER'S REMAINS ON EVEREST IDENTIFIED AFTER 30 YEARS

The remains of Dorje Morup, an Indian climber who died on Mount Everest in May 1996, have been identified after three decades on the mountain. Morup, a lance corporal in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police aged 48 at the time of his death, was part of a six-member expedition attempting to summit via the Chinese side of the mountain. The body, known to climbers as "Green Boots" owing to the distinctive lime-coloured Koflach boots worn by the deceased, has been preserved in ice at approximately 8,500 metres. An Indian expert rescue team is now preparing a mission to recover the remains from the Tibetan side of the mountain for DNA confirmation and return to his family.

Morup died in a blizzard during the expedition's descent from the summit. Three of the six team members turned back due to severe weather, but Morup and two others—Tsewang Smanla and Tsewang Paljor—continued to the 8,849-metre peak. All three were killed in the storm that struck as they descended. The body has long been believed to belong to Tsewang Paljor, but testimony from survivors and the location of the last known radio contact led authorities to conclude it was actually Morup.

Morup's wife, Konchak Yangskit, told the BBC she never received confirmation of her husband's death and struggled to accept it despite organised cremation prayers at home. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police appealed in June for a specialist high-altitude recovery agency to retrieve the remains. If DNA testing confirms the body belongs to Morup, it will be returned to his family, ending decades of uncertainty for those who never abandoned hope of his return.