A former British soldier dramatically rescues a stricken climber who has collapsed near the summit of Mount Everest

A former British Army Special Forces soldier dramatically rescued a stricken climber near the summit of Mount Everest – the highest mountain rescue ever.

Nimsdai Purja, 39, saved the life of a Nepalese climber who collapsed on Everest’s 28,704ft south summit – just 328ft below its main summit.

Purja and three other Everest guides spent four hours last Tuesday lowering Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri to camp four at 25,035 feet.

The climber, who was taken to hospital by helicopter, had been stranded on the mountainside all night, exposed to sub-zero temperatures.

Rescuing climbers who collapse above 26,200 feet – the so-called death zone – is often impossible due to lack of oxygen, extreme cold and high winds.

Nimsdai Purja, 39, (right) saved the life of a Nepalese climber (left) who collapsed on Everest’s 28,704-foot south summit — just 328 feet below its main summit

Purja and three other Everest guides spent four hours last Tuesday lowering Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri to camp four at 25,035 feet

The mountain is littered with the frozen bodies of more than 200 climbers.

Purja posted a video of the rescue last week, saying, “It’s not in the blood to leave anyone behind.”

Raised in Nepal, he joined the British Army and became the first Gurkha to join the elite Special Boat Service.

In 2019, he reached the summits of the 14 highest mountains in the world in a record six months.

Purja said: “Together we brought the climber to the fourth camp and handed it over there [him] in the care of two Sherpas.’

On Friday, he posted a picture of him with Captain Khatri at a hospital in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Although the climber suffered severe frostbite, Purja said he “recovered well”.