Olympic torch on Mount Everest

Beijing, May 8 : A Chinese mountaineerig team took the specially designed Olympic torch to the world’s highest point “Mount Everest” along with Olympic flags this morning.

Amid repeated slogan "One World, One Dream," the climbers circled on the peak and celebrated its achievement by passing the torch among themselves.

"We have lit the torch on top of the world," a climber said.

The 19-member team broke camp at 27,390 feet (8,300 meters) before dawn and reached the top of the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) mountain a little more than six hours later.

Organizers of the Beijing Olympics said climb up Everest was a spectacular feat and hoped the dramatic image of the torch atop Everest will counter some of the damaging publicity from the uprising and protests during the international leg of the torch relay.

The Everest flame is separate from the main Olympic torch, which on Thursday was on the opposite side of China, in the southeastern province of Guangdong, the heart of Chinese manufacturing.

The main flame will cross every region and province of China, returning to Beijing on August 6, two days ahead of the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.

The 19-member final assault team was comprised of ethnic Han Chinese, Tibetan members and university students. The team Captain Nyima Cering was Tibetan, while Deputy Captain Luo Shen was Chinese, said sources. (ANI)

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