A Malaysian climber narrowly survived after a Nepali sherpa guide hauled him down from below the summit of Mount Everest in a very rare high-altitude rescue, a government official has said.

Gelje Sherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) Everest summit on 18 May when he saw the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from extreme cold in the area known as the death zone, where temperatures can dip to -30C or lower.

Gelje hauled the climber 600 metres down from the Balcony to the South Col, over a period of about six hours, where Nima Tashi Sherpa, another guide, joined the rescue.

Gelje said: “We wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat, dragged him on the snow or carried him in turns on our backs to camp three.”

A helicopter using a long line lifted the climber from the 7,162-metre-high camp three down to base camp.

“It is almost impossible to rescue climbers at that altitude,” said Bigyan Koirala, an official from the department of tourism. “It is a very rare operation.”

Gelje said he persuaded his Chinese client to give up his summit attempt and descend the mountain, saying it was important for him to rescue the climber. “Saving one life is more important than praying at the monastery,” said Gelje, a devout Buddhist.

Tashi Lakpa Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks company, which provided logistics to the Malaysian climber, declined to name him, citing his client’s privacy. The climber was put on a flight to Malaysia last week.

Nepal issued a record 478 permits for Everest during this year’s March to May climbing season. At least 12 climbers have died, the highest number for eight years, and another five are still missing on Everest’s slopes.