Kerala mountaineer Sheikh Hassan Khan sends SOS from 17,000 ft on Alaska’s Mount Denali

Everest and Kilimanjaro summiteer stranded in blizzard with scarce supplies.

Thiruvananthapuram: Sheikh Hassan Khan, a 38-year-old Kerala government employee on a mission to scale the highest peaks of every continent, has issued a desperate SOS after being trapped by a fierce storm at 17,000 feet on Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America.

Khan’s satellite-phone message, shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, says he has “Less food and water to survive” and is seeking immediate rescue. “Only God can help us from this situation. Please ask all to pray,” the mountaineer wrote, explaining that he had climbed Denali to unfurl a banner congratulating India’s armed forces for “Operation Sindoor.”

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Chandrasekhar replied that he has alerted both the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, and has tagged the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to coordinate rescue efforts. “Stay safe,” he urged in his post.

Khan is no stranger to extreme altitude. He has already summited Everest and Kilimanjaro and first conquered Denali in June 2023, later describing it as “Denali a beautiful mountain, but Everest is a mighty one.” The only peak remaining on his Seven Summits quest is Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko. To pursue this dream, Khan has taken a five-year leave from his job at the Kerala state secretariat.

Friends and fellow climbers are closely following rescue updates. “We are all praying for his rescue and wish it happens quickly.,” said George Mathew, a former colleague who spoke with Khan before the expedition. “He is so passionate about climbing mountains.”

Rescue authorities in Alaska have yet to release details, but high winds and whiteout conditions at Denali’s upper camps often make helicopter evacuations challenging. The Indian Embassy and U.S. National Park Service are expected to coordinate any forthcoming rescue attempt.