The remains of a man who may be the British climber Andrew Irvine, who went missing a hundred years ago while trying to reach the highest peak in the world, was found on the slopes of Mount Everest, according to what National Geographic magazine announced on Friday.
If the remains are confirmed to be those of Irvine, this discovery may provide additional data that would clarify the circumstances of his death, which is still considered one of the most prominent mysteries in the history of modern mountaineering.
Andrew Irvine and his compatriot George Mallory were last seen on June 8, 1924, a few hundred meters from the summit of Everest, before they were lost.
An American expedition found Mallory’s body in 1999 at an altitude of more than 8,300 metres.
But last month, a new team funded by the American magazine National Geographic found a shoe containing the remains of a human foot under the northern face of Mount Everest, covered by the Rongbuk Glacier.
The magazine explained that the team members found a red sock inside the shoe with the words “AC IRVINE” written on it.
A number of members of the British climber’s family offered to provide samples of their DNA to match the remains found on Mount Everest.
New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and Nepalese guide Tenzing Norkai were the first to officially reach the “roof of the world,” located at an altitude of 8,848 meters, on May 29, 1953.
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