Gurkha amputee scales Everest

Gurkha veteran Hari Budha Magar, who was almost killed serving with the British army in Afghanistan, has become the first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Everest, a member of his team said yesterday. "He reached the top of Sagarmatha at around 3 PM [Nepali time] on Friday. After successfully summiting the peak, he has now descended to the base camp, and will return to Kathmandu tomorrow (today)," Him Bista told AFP, using the Nepali name for Everest. Magar, 43, lost his legs after stepping on an improvised explosive device in 2010 while on patrol in Afghanistan with the Gurkhas. Two below-the-knee amputees have reached the peak in the past -- New Zealander Mark Inglis in 2006 and China's Xia Boyu in 2018. Magar was fitted with prosthetic legs and aside from kayaking, Wight climbed several peaks including Morocco's Mount Toubkal as well as Ben Nevis in Scotland and Mont Blanc.