An American mountaineer, Alex Pancoe, has died on Mount Makalu in eastern Nepal during a fundraising expedition for a children?s cancer programme, officials confirmed on Tuesday. His death marks the second fatality of Nepal?s current climbing season, which began in March.

Pancoe, 39, passed away on Sunday while settling into his sleeping bag at Camp II, shortly after returning from an acclimatisation trip to the higher Camp III. ?Alex suddenly became unresponsive,? Madison Mountaineering, the company organising the expedition, said in a statement. ?Despite hours of resuscitation efforts? they were unable to revive him.?

Nepal?s Department of Tourism said arrangements are under way to recover and transport his body to the capital, Kathmandu.

A brain tumour survivor, Pancoe was an accomplished adventurer who had completed the Explorer?s Grand Slam?reaching the highest summits on each continent and skiing to both the North and South Poles. He was also battling chronic myeloid leukaemia at the time of the climb.

His latest mission was to scale Makalu, the world?s fifth-highest mountain at 8,463 metres (28,000 feet), to raise money for the paediatric blood cancer programme at Lurie Children?s Hospital in Chicago. ?He had already raised $1 million to help fund clinical trials and other programmes,? said expedition leader Garrett Madison.

In April, a Nepali Sherpa lost his life on Mount Annapurna, the world?s tenth-highest peak. Nepal, which is nestled between India and China, is home to eight of the world?s 14 highest mountains. The country?s economy is significantly dependent on climbing and trekking tourism for foreign exchange. (AriseNews TV)

? Mountain climbers, used for illustration purposes only

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