Olympic flame reaches top of Mount Everest

The special lantern carrying the Olympic flame for the Beijing Games reached the top of Mt Everest, Mt Qomolangma in Chinese, on Thursday morning. The joyous team of climbers cheered as they concluded the relay, CRI reports.

The torch bearers spent an hour altogether at the top, although the flame was relayed for only six minutes from a site near the peak towards the top. According to CRI, Norbu Zhamdu lit the first torch at 9:11.

The flame started its ascent in the hands of female climber Gyigyias, who passed it to Wang Yongfeng. A total of nineteen climbers took part in the strenuous ascent that was repeatedly postponed due to bad weather.

At 9:17, the last of five torchbearers, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, hoisted the flame at the peak of the world's tallest mountain and the relay concluded, Xinhua writes.

Despite strong winds and freezing temperatures, the torch, specially designed by Chinese rocket scientists, stayed alight, CRI reports.

China Central Television reporter Daintar used a handycam to record the event, which was broadcast live.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping sent a telegraph to the team, congratulating them for successfully carrying the Olympic flame to the peak, Xinhua reports.

The Beijing Olympic torch relay, which covers 137,000 kilometers across five continents in 130 days, is the longest and most ambitious one ever undertaken, CRI writes.

The Everest flame, separated from the main Olympic flame before it embarked on its journey of five continents, will be reunited with the main flame later in the relay, Xinhua reports. The main torch could not be used on the mountain because bad weather could disrupt its schedule, AP writes.

The main flame finished the international leg of the relay and returned to Chinese mainland at the beginning of May. It is due to tour the southern city of Shenzhen later today.