Family of missing climber Seamus Lawless launch search and rescue fundraising appeal

Mr Lawless went missing on Mt Everest on Thursday. His family want to raise €750,000 to gather a team of experts to help find him.

The family of Seamus Lawless who is missing on Mount Everest have launched a fundraising appeal to help locate the 39-year-old. Mr Lawless from Bray, Co Wicklow was fulfilling a life-long dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at 8,848 metres, before he reached his 40th birthday in July this year. The assistant professor from Trinity College had successfully reached the summit on Thursday along with several others in his group. Mr Lawless went missing on Thursday while descending the mountain. The GPS worn by Mr Lawless was found almost 500 metres from where he fell, and experts say it is possible that the device became detached from Mr Lawless. The decision was taken by rescuers and those on the Himalayan mountain range to stop the search for Mr Lawless, due to high winds of 55km and temperatures of -27C with a wind chill, making it feel more like -43C. The family want to raise €750,000 to gather a team of experts to help locate him. The fundraising appeals states that: "The insurance company that had provided a policy for Séamus (Shay) are currently not providing assistance with the search and rescue. Shay achieved his lifelong dream on the morning of Thursday 15 May when he reached the peak of Mount Everest. Tragically, on his descent, Shay fell and has been missing since. "With the weekend upon us, we, the family of Shay, have been left with no other option but to ask for assistance in raising funds to gather a team of expert Sherpas to locate and bring our beloved Shay home to Ireland. Time is of the essence in the search mission and the costs of running this mission are substantial." You can donate to the GoFundMe for Séamus Lawless here.