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Mount Everest, which is considered to be the highest mountain peak in the world, where every climber dreams of, is now in the news because of a big scam. The Sherpas have played a dangerous game on the climbers who risk their lives to climb this peak. Nepal Police has exposed a major insurance scam on Mount Everest, in which senior officials of Sherpas, trekking companies and hospitals were involved. These people together poisoned the climbers so that they fell ill and then brought them down through helicopters so that huge sums of money could be extorted.

According to the report of Kathmandu Post, Nepal Police has busted a syndicate of 32 people. This included owners of trekking companies, helicopter companies and hospital officials. All of them have been arrested on charges of organized crime and fraud. Now the question is how did this scam work?

What was revealed in the investigation was really surprising. According to officials, some Sherpas, in collaboration with trekking agencies, used to mix ‘baking soda’ in the food of climbers. Excessive amounts of baking soda caused problems to tourists such as stomach ache and vomiting, which were similar to the symptoms of altitude sickness or food poisoning.

When tourists fell ill, pressure was put on them to immediately send them down by emergency helicopter. The cost of helicopter was very high, but to save their lives tourists were forced to pay more money. Actually, the aim of these Sherpas was to collect huge claims from international insurance companies. These people prepared fake bills and medical documents and took millions of dollars in payments from insurance companies.

The real story of this scam was exposed when six officials of three big rescue companies were arrested in January. The investigation found that one company claimed 1,248 rescues, of which 171 were completely fake. This same company committed a fraud of about 10 million dollars. The second company showed 75 false rescues and embezzled about $8 million, while the third company made false claims of more than $1 million.

The scam not only jeopardized the lives of climbers on Mount Everest, but it was also damaging the credibility of Nepal’s trekking industry. The police and concerned authorities have promised to take strict action in this matter and plan to implement strict rules to stop such frauds. The revelation of this scam proved that some people can go to any extent for money, even at the cost of playing with someone’s life.