# 1996 Mount Everest disaster

_Events of 10–11 May 1996, when eight people were caught in a blizzard and died on Mount Everest during attempts to reach the summit_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/places/1996-mount-everest-disaster
Last updated: 2026-10-02

> On 10–11 May 1996, eight climbers were caught in a blizzard and died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over that season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit. These deaths marked that season the deadliest season on Mount Everest until it became the third deadliest after the 23 fatalities from avalanches caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 fatalities of the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche. The 1996 disaster received widespread publicity, raised questions about the commercialisation of Everest, and prompted an enduring controversy about who and what was at fault for the disaster.

## Quick facts

- **Type:** mountaineering accident ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1517252#P31))
- **Coordinates:** 27.9881, 86.9250

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): 1996 Mount Everest disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q1517252](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1517252) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Everest-3D-Map-Type-EN.jpg by Tom Patterson (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Everest-3D-Map-Type-EN.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article 1996 Mount Everest disaster, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Everest-3D-Map-Type-EN.jpg — Tom Patterson, CC0.

## Cite this page

"1996 Mount Everest disaster". DigiNepal. Last updated 2 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/places/1996-mount-everest-disaster. Retrieved 21 October 2026.