A British software engineer died while attempting to scale Mt Everest, becoming the fifth climber to die on the slope of the world's highest peak this summer.

Robert William Milne, a 49-year-old software engineer from Edinburgh, Scotland, apparently died of a sudden heart attack at the altitude of 8,450 m Sunday while on his way to the summit.

Milne was attempting to climb the peak this season to test a pioneering technology that will help plan expeditions more effectively and save lives.

He was part of the Himalayan Guide expedition that was among the last teams to attempt the 8,848 m peak from the Nepal side this summer.

Ironically, Milne was the first mountaineer to use the IM-PACs (intelligent messaging, planning and collaboration) system developed at the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute in the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics.

He was road-testing the new technology that is intended to provide computer support to people and teams involved in a wide range of activities, from expeditions in extreme conditions to handling emergencies and planning rescue operations.

Armed with a laptop computer and satellite phone, Milne was said to be in regular contact with colleagues.

The plan was to get suggestions for alternative courses of action if conditions worsened remarkably during his climb.

But according to his teammates, Milne died instantly of a sudden cardiac arrest and was beyond the help of science.

With Milne's death, so far, the toll on Mt Everest goes up to 190.

Five mountaineers died this summer while attempting to scale the peak, two of them due to health reasons and three due to accidents.

The body of S.S. Chaitanya, who belonged to the Indian Air Force Expedition that reached the summit last Monday and lost his way in a blizzard during the descent, has not been found so far.