A Malaysian climber has been rescued after nearly two days alone near the summit of a Nepalese mountain.

Wui Kin Chin, 48, was stranded for 40 hours without an oxygen bottle, food or water on Mt Annapurna earlier this week.

He was part of a larger international expedition and reached the summit but was separated from the others as they descended the 8,091m-high (26,545ft) mountain.

Mr Chin, who is an anaesthesiologist and experienced climber, was rescued on Thursday after he was spotted by a helicopter search crew.

He was waving his hands at them at an altitude of about 7,500m (24,606ft).

Four sherpas brought him down to a lower camp and he was transferred by helicopter to hospital in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Friday, where he was joined by his wife.

He only words were reported to have been a request for hot water.

Mingma Sherpa, the head of Seven Summit Treks, which arranged his expedition, said Mr Chin’s medical knowledge and climbing experience probably saved him.

“It’s a big thing to stay alive in that altitude without food, water, and oxygen,” he said.

Mr Chin is reported to be in a critical condition, with hypothermia and frostbite, and not yet well enough to walk.

Mount Annapurna is the ninth highest mountain in Nepal and the 10th highest in the world.

Difficult terrain, frequent avalanches and extreme weather make it especially treacherous and dozens of climbers have died there since it was first climbed successfully in 1950.

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