A Malaysian mountain climber is being treated in a hospital in Nepal after being stranded nearly two days alone near the summit of Annapurna.

A helicopter crew searching for the missing climber on Thursday spotted Wui Kin Chin waving his hands at them, and rescuers brought him down to a lower camp.

At the time of his rescue, Mr Chin had been without an oxygen bottle, food and water for more than 40 hours, said Mingma Sherpa, the head of Seven Summit Treks, which arranged his expedition.

Mr Chin was flown to the capital Kathmandu on Friday and taken to a hospital, where his wife joined him.

Mr Chin is an anaesthesiologist and accomplished climber, and Mr Sherpa credited Mr Chin’s medical knowledge and familiarity with mountains for keeping him alive.

“It’s a big thing to stay alive in that altitude without food, water, and oxygen,” Mr Sherpa said.

He described Mr Chin on Thursday as fine but not in condition to walk.

Mr Chin was a part of a 13-member expedition led by a French climber and was separated from the others during the descent.

The 8,091-metre Mount Annapurna is the ninth tallest mountain in Nepal and the 10th tallest in the world.

It is considered an especially treacherous mountain due to its difficult terrain and weather conditions.