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Transcript by Newsy: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewsyWorld?feature=guide (Image source: Wikimedia Commons) BY STEVEN SPARKMAN A tragedy on the top of the world. Climbers rushed to summit Mt. Everest over the weekend, but NBC's Today Show reports the climb turned deadly. "Three climbers have died descending from the top of Mt. Everest this weekend. Two other climbers have also gone missing since Saturday on the world's tallest mountain." Officials have determined one of the climbers died of altitude sickness, a reaction to low pressure and scarce oxygen. Fox News has more on the victim. "One of them you see here, 61-year-old Dr. Eberhard Schaaf of Germany. A Canadian and South Korean also died after the three reached the summit and they were on their way back down." The already-harsh conditions on Everest were made all the worse the number of climbers trying to make it to the top in a very short time window. A writer for Gather reports, the mountain was so crowded, climbers had to stand in line. "The month of May usually provides the only 'ideal' conditions for reaching the summit. This year, it didn't happen until this past weekend ... The result was a traffic jam of eager climbers, pursuing their dreams despite warnings to not attempt a summit after 11 a.m. Over 150 climbers forged ahead into the 'death zone' until as late as 2:30 p.m." The climbers apparently hadn't brought enough oxygen to last through both the climb and the long wait. A climb organizer tells CNN it's not uncommon for climbers to let the thrill get the better of them. "Mountaineers often expend all their energy while ascending the mountain and do not think about energy needed to come down. 'As a result, they become weak and suffer from altitude sickness.'" Another of Saturday's climbers, a 73-year-old Japanese woman, became the oldest woman to stand on the summit.