A FOOT thought to belong to a British mountaineer who vanished on Mount Everest 100 years ago has been found by documentary makers.
Andrew Comyn “Sandy” Irvine was last seen with George Mallory 800ft from the peak.
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There has been speculation they may have been the first to the summit — 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
Mallory’s body was found in 1999.
The foot, in a boot and a sock embroidered “AC Irvine” was discovered lower down in melting ice on a glacier below the North Face.
National Geographic Explorer Jimmy Chin, who was a member of the climb team, said: “Sometimes in life, the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking.
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“This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large.”
Irvine’s great-niece Julie Summers, said she’d been “moved to tears” on being told of the discovery.
“I have lived with this story since I was a seven-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest,” she said.
“The story became more real when climbers found the body of George Mallory in 1999, and I wondered if Sandy’s body would be discovered next.
“A quarter-of-a-century after that discovery, it seemed extremely unlikely that anything new would be found.
“When Jimmy told me that he saw the name AC Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
Relatives have agreed to DNA tests.
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