SINGAPORE, May 2 — A Singapore-based Malaysian doctor died today after he was rescued last week from near the summit of Nepal’s Mount Annapurna, where he was stranded for more than 43 hours.
Dr Chin Wui Kin, 48, was initially treated at a hospital in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu, before he was airlifted to Singapore over the weekend for treatment at the National University Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Chin’s wife, Thanaporn Lorchirachoonkul, declined to speak and requested privacy.
Friends and family members turned up today at Dr Chin’s wake — held at a Buddhist temple in Bukit Merah — to pay their last respects. Those approached declined to be interviewed.
Dr Chin, who was a visiting senior anaesthesiology consultant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, was separated from other trekkers while descending the treacherous peak, which has a higher death rate than Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
The extent of Dr Chin’s injuries was unclear. Nevertheless, following his rescue last Thursday, a doctor in Nepal told AFP that he was in critical condition.
“His heart rate and temperature were both very low when we received him. He is suffering from severe hypothermia and has frostbite on his hands and feet,” Sanij Singh, emergency physician at Mediciti Hospital, was quoted by AFP as saying. “His condition is critical... We are doing what we can.”
At the time, one of Dr Chin’s rescuers also said that his “life may still be in danger” and that he may “lose his limbs”.
Dr Chin was an experienced climber who successfully scaled Mount Everest last year.
Last Tuesday, Dr Chin had reached the top of the 8,091-metre Mount Annapurna along with 31 other climbers from various countries but he then failed to descend to a lower camp.
Dr Chin had provided updates about his expedition on his Facebook page. His last post was on April 21. “It was scary at the ice cliff, I am glad to make it up to camp 3. The heavy snow had set in,” he wrote. — TODAY
