A Chinese climber died en route to the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday while a 59-year-old Indian woman was evacuated from base camp suffering an unspecified illness and died on her way to hospital, a government official and hiking companies said.

Bigyan Koirala, an official at the department of tourism, said the climbers died in separate incidents. Details were not available.

Lakpa Sherpa, a senior official of the 8K Expeditions company, said the Chinese national died in the so-called “death zone” of Everest above 8,000 metres during a push for the 8,849-metre summit.

“We have only received the information about the death but details are yet to come,” Lakpa told Reuters.

Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus, from Maharashtra, was taken ill at the base camp and died after being evacuated to Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest, Tendi Sherpa of the Glacier Himalaya hiking company which organised her expedition, said.

“Her body has already been flown to a hospital in Kathmandu,” he told Reuters.

Nepal has issued 478 climbing permits for Everest during the current season ending this month. Eight climbers, including Chinese and Indian nationals, have died on Mount Everest during the current season.