A British research team has suspended its "Extreme Everest Project." The move came after the Nepal Health Research Council asked the team to furnish a proposal before conducting a research at the Mt. Qomolangma Base camp, a local media reported on Sunday.

Sarad Onta, member-secretary of the council, told The Himalayan Times daily that the council received a letter from the team from Namche, Solukhumbu in northeastern Nepal, asking for an apology.

He said the team will not conduct research unless it gets a permission from the government of Nepal.

According to the law of the land, foreign agencies should involve Nepalis while conducting such a research.

"We have no information about the involvement of the Nepalis in the research project," Onta said.

The project aimed to conduct a research on why some people cope with lack of oxygen better than others.

According to the report, the findings can help patients.

The team was planning to conduct tests on around 200 trekkers, who had volunteered as guinea pigs, during their summit attempts.

According to the report, the team planned to collect 15,000 blood samples and conduct 2,200 exercise tests.

In a letter sent to the council on Thursday, Mike Grocott of the "Extreme Everest Project" said the team has apologized for not seeking the government's consent before conducting the research.

"The team has to meet set criteria," Onta said. "The team must get permission for conducting the research."

It is illegal to conduct such research in the country without prior permission from the authority concerned, Onta added.

Source: Xinhua