Mount Everest guides allegedly poisoned tourists in insurance scam

(NewsNation) – Dozens of Mount Everest guides have been accused of poisoning foreign climbers as part of a scheme to create emergencies and collect millions in insurance money.

Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau reportedly uncovered the $20 million insurance fraud scam in 2018, but recently reopened the investigation.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot from the base camp on Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,200 meters on May 16, 2020. (Jigme Dorje/Xinhua via AP, File)

Guides would allegedly create emergencies for tourists from countries like the U.K. or Australia, where it would be more difficult for insurance companies to verify incidents in the Kathmandu area of Nepal, the Kathmandu Post reported.

Authorities say guides would wait for climbers to experience mild altitude sickness, and then urge the climbers to take acetazolamide tablets, which treat altitude sickness, albeit with “excessive” amounts of water that would worsen symptoms. In one case, a guide........

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