Picture taken on March 6, 2017 shows Min Bahadur Sherchan,an 86-year-old former Gurkha greets while expressing his plan to become the oldest person ever to conquer Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) during a press meet organized in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Min Bahadur Sherchan, 86, who had sought to reclaim the crown of the world's oldest Qomolangma summiteers, died at the mountain base camp on Saturday evening.

Shivraj Thapa, managing director of the Summit Nepal Trekking, told Xinhua Saturday that Sherchan died at the base camp at 5:14 p.m. local time.

Officials of the Nepali Department of Tourism which issues climbing permits has not confirmed his death so far.

Thapa said the cause behind Sherchan's death is yet to be confirmed as the doctors accompanying the expedition team are examining it.

Thapa said Sherchan left for the mountain on April 16.

Born in Nepal's western Myagdi district, Sherchan stood atop the mountain in 2008, becoming the oldest climber to reach the summit of the mountain at the age of 76.

But five years later, Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura snatched the title of the oldest summiteer from Sherchan as the Japanese senior citizen summitted the peak when he was 80.

Since then, Sherchan had sought to reclaim the title.