Beijing: The Beijing Olympic flame reached the summit of Mt Everest this morning, marking high point of the torch relay.

The mountaineers celebrated the event at the 8,844 metre peak, the highest in the world, holding Chinese national flag, one of Beijing Olympics and another with Olympic's five-rings.

A 19-member squad, seven of them in the back-up group, had set out late last night for the summit in what was described as a "final assault" for the mission by a senior official yesterday.

Chinese authorities had yesterday said that they made the decision for today's ascent on the basis of weather situation and the team's physical conditions.

The Olympic torch has had a disturbed global run as it was marred by protests by pro-Tibetan activists. It returned to the Chinese mainland last week and is now being carried through different cities.
Source : PTI