By Tenzin Sangmo
New Delhi, May 8 – The Special Olympic flame has scaled the Everest. It reached the summit Thursday morning where the mountaineers celebrated the feat holding the Chinese National Flag, the Beijing Olympic Flag and one of the Olympic insignia with five rings. The 19 member final assault team which according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency included both ethnic Han Chinese and Tibetans apart from University students broke camp at 27,390 feet (8,300 meters) at 3 am local time (2330 IST) reaching the top of the 29,035 foot (8,850 meter) mountain at 9:18 am (0548 IST) a little over six hours.
The expedition was earlier put off until further notice by Chinese authorities due to unfavorable climatic conditions but said on Wednesday that the decision for Thursday’s ascent was based on the weather situation and the team’s physical conditions.
China has drawn flak from many international communities for its poor human rights record. The March uprising in Tibet has only added fuel to the fire which saw anti-China demonstrations plague the Olympic flame on its ‘Journey of Harmony’ through twenty eight international cities across five continents.
The team captain is identified as Nyima Cering, a Tibetan with Luo Shen, a Chinese second in command according to CCTV and Xinhua. Among the larger climbing team which included 31 people 22 are reported to be ethnic Tibetans, with eight Han Chinese and one from the Tujia minority.
The Special Everest flame is separate from the one touring mainland China which reached the Southeastern province of Guangdrong Thursday. The main torch will be carried through 78 provinces and cities during the domestic phase of its relay, returning to Beijing on August 6 two days ahead of Opening Ceremony of the Games.
