NEW DELHI, March 9. /TASS/. The government of Nepal has introduced mandatory electronic chips mountaineers will be obliged to wear when climbing Mount Everest, Rakesh Gurung, the director of the department of tourism, has told TASS.
"These chips can help with search and rescue operations. This kind of chips has been already used by some of the agencies of Nepal, but it was not mandatory in the past days. From this season (starting in April - TASS) we make it compulsory for all climbers and mountain guides," Gurung said.
He stated that the government was already planning to apply this rule to other peaks in Nepal because "accidents will happen not on Everest, they will happen on other peaks too." The authorities hope that the chips will make search and rescue operations more efficient and less costly. One of the problems with climbing the Himalayan peaks is that in case of incidents, such as avalanches, it costs tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to both search for the missing and evacuate the bodies of the dead.
"If we use these devices in the mountains, the costs will be reduced, because such devices will locate where missing bodies is very accurately," Gurung said.
He did not mention the exact type of devices to be used. According to local media, the choice may be made in favor of simple chips capable of receiving the transmitter’s signal and sending it back to the source. The range of such a detector is about 200 meters. Such $10-15 transponders weigh a few grams and can be attached to clothing or equipment.