Trekkers were fed food that caused nausea, weakened them so much that they could no longer proceed on foot, and required emergency flights.

Nepal’s spring Everest climbing season began this week amid a police investigation into an alleged insurance fraud worth nearly $20 million, in which guides, helicopter operators, hospital staff and agents have been accused of creating or exacerbating medical emergencies to trigger costly helicopter evacuations and fraudulent insurance claims. Police said the methods included mixing baking soda into food to cause nausea and swelling, giving excessive Diamox – a drug that helps acclimatization to high altitude – forcing them with excessive hydration to mimic the symptoms of high altitude cerebral edema, and in some cases using laxatives to weaken trekkers to such an extent that they could no longer continue walking. Fake flight manifests, load sheets, invoices and hospital records were allegedly used to support the claims. “Hospitals, helicopter operators and guides are also involved in this chain; we are investigating it,” said Shiv Kumar Shrestha, spokesman for Nepal Police’s Central Bureau of Investigation.Operators said abuse of rescue flights has increased in recent years and has begun to impact the availability of helicopters for genuine emergencies. Mingma Sherpa, owner of Seven Summit Treks based in Kathmandu, said times of India The fallout could extend beyond the current case if international insurers lose confidence in Nepal’s rescue chain. Lukas Furtenbach, Austrian head of Furtenbach Adventures, said the allegations, particularly those related to tampering with food and hospital records, threatened confidence in Nepal’s rescue system. “The level of organized crime here is staggering. We’re talking about millions of dollars being siphoned off through hospitals that provide fraudulent discharge summaries for patients who were never even sick,” he said.Investigators said the racket ran between 2022 and 2025, involved more than 300 fake rescues, and in some cases allegedly deliberately sickened trekkers before flying them to Kathmandu and billed foreign insurers through forged or manipulated records.Police have charged 32 people with offenses linked to organized crime and have expanded the investigation to also include the owners of Mountain Rescue Service, Nepal Charter Service and Shriddhi Hospital. Nine of the accused are in custody while 23 are absconding. “In our preliminary investigation, we found that these companies were involved in around 300 fake rescue operations,” Shrestha said.Investigators said one of the main methods was to load multiple trekkers onto the same helicopter and bill multiple insurers as if each person had been flown on a separate private charter. They also alleged that exhausted trackers were pressured to exaggerate symptoms and, in some cases, deliberately pushed into crisis so that evacuation appeared to be the only option.Central Bureau of Investigation chief Manoj Kumar KC said, “We have strong evidence of companies and individuals involved in the fake hedge scam. All of them will be prosecuted…”Garrett Madison, an expedition leader with US-based Madison Mountaineering who has climbed Everest 10 times, said, “We see it every season: helicopters flying in circles for people who just have a headache or are a little tired from walking. It has transformed a life-saving device into a mountain taxi service. My concern is for the person who actually has HACE or a broken limb – will the helicopter be available to them…?”The investigation also examined how commissions were allegedly run through the system. “My hospital has also paid commission from its earnings to tracking companies and rescue companies to boost business,” Dr Girvan Raj Timilsina of Shriddhi Hospital said in a recorded statement.Nepal Tourism Board chief executive Deepak Raj Joshi said corrective action could help restore confidence.