Two Assam mountaineers scale Mt Kanchenjunga

ASSAM: Two mountaineers from Assam scaled the world's third largest peak Mt Kanchenjunga on Thursday.

Bhaskar Baruah and Jayanta Nath, part of a seven-member team, scaled the 8,586 metres high peak at 7:15 am after an arduous climb from the summit camp which began at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, Assam Mountaineering Association's (AMA) general secretary (Incharge) Mriganka Sarma said.

The duo hoisted the national flag along with the AMA flag and the Assamese 'gamusa' atop the peak, he said.

The expedition was flagged off by President Droupadi Murmu on April 7, during her visit to the state, when she had handed over the national flag, the ice axe baton and the expedition flag to team leader and Everest climber Manas Barua.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is the Chef de Mission of the expedition team, congratulated the duo for scaling the third-highest mountain peak.

''In a moment of soaring pride for us, glad to share that 7:15 today, two Assamese mountaineers - Bhaskar Baruah and Jayanta Nath unfurled the Tiranga and the Gamusa at Mt Kanchenjunga, 3rd highest mountain peak'', Sarma tweeted.

He said that with this, AMA has become the first organisation from the North East to have this unique distinction.

''We are honoured to have supported this endeavour. My congratulations to the mountaineers and AMA'', the chief minister added.

The team had left for the expedition on April 11 and had set up the base camp at 5,200 metres after trekking from Taplejung in Nepal on April 20.

The team members had set up three more camps before reaching the summit camp at a height of 7,500 metres on May 13.

The expedition was sponsored by the state Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare.