Body of Tibetan nun shot by Chinese border patrols at Nangpa Pass on September 30, 2006. (Pavle Kozjek. ExplorersWeb)
A photograph of the Tibetan nun who was shot by Chinese military on September 30 has been obtained from one of the mountaineers who witnessed the incident from Mount Cho Oyu. The image depicts a body lying in the snow, which has been confirmed to be the 17-year old nun, Kelsang Namtso, from Nagchu (Chinese: Naqu) prefecture in central Tibet. Kelsang Namtso was shot while attempting to cross the pass into Nepal and exile in India. The image depicts two shapes in the snow towards the ridge, which appear to confirm eyewitness reports of a backpack near the body that was viewed by at least one mountaineer through a telescope. A snow trail near the body could indicate that other people had been walking with her and before her.
Two 17-year old monks, from Nyingtri (Chinese: Linzhi), Tibet Autonomous Region, told ICT that the incident was terrifying: “We could only hear the gunfire and our friends screaming.” Some Tibetan sources have reported another death of a 13-year old Tibetan. The group of Tibetans confirmed that Chinese border security or military had taken at least nine children from the group aged between six and eight and an older man before they were able to cross into Nepal. The image was taken by a Slovenian climber, Pavle Kozjek and sent to the online explorers’ network, ExplorersWeb.
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