Four climbers were found dead inside of a tent early Wednesday morning near the top of Mount Everest, the Himalayan Times reported, and the Associated Press confirmed.
One of the deceased climbers was a female climber, the Himalayan Times reported. Two of the climbers were local, while two were foreigners.
Base camp officials said that a group of four climbers belonging to a new expedition company had been out of contact since Sunday. It is unclear whether it was the same group that was found dead.
The four deaths on Everest have increased the death toll on the mountain this season to nine. On Sunday, a 50-year-old Alabama doctor Roland Yearwood was found dead just below the summit.
The bodies on Wednesday were found at Camp 4 on Mount Everest, which has an elevation of just over 26,000 feet. The camp is nearly 3,000 vertical feet below the peak of Everest.
Camp 4 is typically the final spot climbers rest before taking off for the summit of Everest. Most climbers leave Camp 4 around midnight in order to return to the camp before sunset.
At 26,000 feet, scientists dub the altitude the "death zone," as the lack of oxygen causes vial functions to diminish.
