Mountaineer Nawang Gombu dead

Nawang Gombu, the first person to climb Mt Everest twice, died at his residence on Sunday after a brief illness, family sources said.

Gombu (79), is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. Besides being the youngest Sherpa to reach South Col during the first successful expedition in 1953, Gombu first climbed Mt Everest along with Jim Whittaker during American Everest Expedition in 1963. He then set a new record when he scaled the world’s highest peak again in 1965.