An Indian woman who lost her leg after she was thrown from a moving train two years ago has become the first female amputee to climb Everest, expedition organisers said Wednesday.
Arunima Sinha, 26, from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, reached the peak on Tuesday morning after a slow climb from Everest Base Camp.
“She left high camp at 6pm on Monday evening and arrived at the summit at 10:55 am (0510 GMT) on Tuesday,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, founder of Asian Trekking, the company that organised the expedition, told AFP.
Sinha’s guides were concerned about her slow pace until the team reached an 8,750-metre (28,707 foot) junction that climbers pass through on their way to the top of the mountain, Sherpa said.
“But once she got to that point, she gained energy and confidence and started moving really quickly,” Sherpa said.
Two years ago, the former national-level volleyball player was shoved from a moving train by thieves when she reportedly attempted to fight them off as they tried to stealing her purse.