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  "path": "/news/mount-everest-plagued-poisonings-fraud-police-uncover",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-01T21:36:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Vladimir Putin caught helping Iran target Chagos Islands as Russia's three-stage attack plans revealed",
    "Keir Starmer pushes for closeness with EU warning Iran conflict will 'affect the future of country'",
    "Last known shipment of jet fuel from Middle East heading towards Europe now destined for Britain amid Iran war",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nNepalese authorities have exposed what they describe as an extensive criminal operation targeting mountaineers on Mount Everest.\n\nInvestigators have alleged that some guides have been secretly contaminating climbers' food to trigger fake medical emergencies.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAccording to the police investigation, visitors to Everest have had their meals laced with sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda.\n\nWhen consumed in significant quantities, this substance elevates blood pH levels, producing symptoms remarkably similar to altitude sickness.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThose affected experience dizziness, headaches and breathing difficulties, with more serious cases developing irregular heart rhythms.\n\nOnce climbers fall ill, they are then evacuated by helicopter, with the fraudulent rescuers submitting vastly inflated bills to travel insurance providers.\n\nIn certain cases, rescuers have filed claims for evacuations that never took place at all.\n\nSome have even sought reimbursement for supposedly life-saving medical interventions administered to patients who were, at that very moment, perfectly healthy and enjoying food and drinks in the hospital cafeteria.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne doctor, during police questioning, reportedly confessed that his medical facility had paid approximately £73,000 in commissions to operating companies, including a helicopter service allegedly connected to the racket.\n\nThe scale of the deception is substantial. Nepalese police have confirmed more than 300 fraudulent rescues between 2022 and 2025, amounting to nearly $20million in bogus claims.\n\nAuthorities have responded by filing 33 criminal charges, with some prosecutions brought under legislation designed to combat organised crime.\n\nA police spokesperson attributed the scheme's longevity to inadequate enforcement, telling local media that \"the scam continued due to lax punitive action\" and had \"tainted the country's image\".\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Vladimir Putin caught helping Iran target Chagos Islands as Russia's three-stage attack plans revealed\n  * Keir Starmer pushes for closeness with EU warning Iran conflict will 'affect the future of country'\n  * Last known shipment of jet fuel from Middle East heading towards Europe now destined for Britain amid Iran war\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"When there is no action against crime, it flourishes. The insurance scam too flourished as a result,\" the spokesman added.\n\nAssistant Inspector General Manoj Kumar KC, who forms part of the investigative team, echoed this sentiment, stating that those involved had damaged Nepal's reputation.\n\nFor a nation that takes immense pride in its mountaineering heritage, the revelations have proved particularly humiliating.\n\nNepalese authorities have now introduced stricter oversight measures in response to the scandal.\n\nAll rescue operations must henceforth be formally reported to both the tourism department and the tourist police.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThese regulatory changes come as the spring climbing season gets underway, with officials anticipating close to 500 mountaineers attempting the summit.\n\nTeams of specialist route-setters, known as icefall doctors, are already installing fixed ropes and ladders in preparation.\n\nThousands more visitors are expected to undertake the trek to base camp during the brief weather window suitable for ascents.\n\nHimal Gautam, a director at the Department of Tourism, said the new reporting requirements formed part of efforts to restore confidence in Nepal's mountaineering industry.\n\n\"We hope they follow the rules this time,\" he stated.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Mount Everest plagued by poisonings and fraud as police uncover criminal network of 'fake rescues'"
}